Mission: Impossible
by SachiNyoko
Summary: Round up the pilots, it's time for another mission! The sailor senshi have been dubbed the final threat to peace, so who better to seek out and destroy them than the Gundam pilots? But can they do it?
1. The Mission

**IMPORTANT! Please read before continuing!**

This was one of my very first stories, and though I am rewriting it to a certain degree there's a few things I want to clear up, and they are as follows:

Nearly all characters will be OOC at certain points in the story

Mamoru will become an ass/bad guy, completely warping his character and defacing his true affections for Usagi.

Plot lines will be mostly cliché, and all love interest interactions will most likely be corny and/or unrealistic.

Pairings are predetermined and are as follows: Usagi/Heero, Minako/Duo, Rei/Wufei (They're names rhyme, it's the perfect couple.), Quatre/Ami, and Trowa/Makoto.

If, at this point, you're wondering why I'm even bothering, it's because a huge chunk of this story is already written. Now, if you haven't been completely discouraged from reading this fic, continue on! Just don't flame me for any of the above reasons, because I did warn you! Also, I recently read a novel translated from Japanese called Out. In it they have a yen to dollar conversion chart that I found relatively easy to follow, so I'm going to use it here.

1,000 yen equals 8 dollars

5,000 yen equals 40 dollars

10,000 yen equals 80 dollars

50,000 yen equals 400 dollars

100,000 yen equals 800 dollars

1,000,000 yen equals 8,000 dollars

10,000,000 yen equals 80,000 dollars

* * *

Strumming his fingers against the arm of his chair, Duo Maxwell resisted the urge to scream out a random phrase, if only to end the awkward silence that hung around the five teenagers. If it weren't for fear of a gun or sword threatening his life, he might've gone ahead. God only knew how long they'd been waiting there, with no real grasp on why they were present at all.

When Dr. J says jump, they jump, that's how it'd always been, and apparently the era of peace had no real affect on that behaviorism. So, now, here they were, waiting. Suddenly, the hum of a projector filled the room, startling the wary pilots, and an image flickered to life on the wall in front of them. The lights went out, making the glowing image clearer, and the five stared at the five young girls in sailor-like costumes.

"Meet the Sailor Senshi, so-called protectors of Tokyo, and furthermore the universe. In a sense, they're five vigilantes with no regard for authority or order, and the final threat to our established peace." The all-too familiar voice of Dr. J informed, just as the slide changed. The five were taking down a mobile suit, using some sort of glowing attacks. It was hard to make out in the photograph.

"As you can see, the girl's faces are blurred. It's the same in every picture, so we haven't been able to uncover the identities of these girls. We received an anonymous tip that the girls attend Juuban High, in Tokyo. As you might have guessed by now, the five of you are being assigned to locate and destroy the final threat to our peace. Do you accept?"

* * *

"Oi, this is such a drag." Duo complained, being the first of the five to speak since they'd accepted their mission. Wufei rolled his eyes at the braided pilot, which caused Duo to, in turn, stick his tongue out at him.

"You didn't have to come. We could've handled this perfectly fine without you." The Chinese boy shot back, glaring. Duo grinned enthusiastically.

"But it's the first time we've been together in forever! Besides, the girls in the photos look pretty hot if you ask me, not to mention all the cute high school girls. I wouldn't want to miss out on that." He laughed jovially at the looks he received from his fellow pilots, holding his hands up in defense. "I'm kidding, you guys. Well, mostly."

Duo ducked as Wufei reached for his braid, and hopped out of range should he go for it a second time. Quatre shook his head at the yells and laughs that resounded through the shuttle, smiling slightly to himself as the colorful orb of Earth came into view. Trowa, in the seat next to him, was observing the planet as well, though his thought process was anyone's guess.

Heero hadn't breathed a word yet, but he was also staring at said terra firma with fiery intensity. The chocolate-haired youth ignored Duo and Wufei as they passed through his line of vision, his concentration bordering eerie.

"Prepare to land." Quatre called over his shoulder, and Duo immediately dropped in his seat, Wufei grudgingly following.

* * *

"So, Heero, apparently you have no sense of direction." Duo prodded, grinning cheekily as Heero glared at him. Leaning over Heero's shoulder, he added, "It might just help if the map wasn't upside down."

"You're kidding, right?" Quatre cut in. Normally, the blonde boy had a good amount of patience, but walking around Tokyo for two hours had eaten away at it. He looked pained as Heero flipped the map, looking about as embarrassed as an emotionless person could manage. Duo had moved away from the trigger-happy youth, shaking with his silent laughter.

"We should ask for directions." Trowa suggested, watching as their group became increasingly tense. Wufei was flexing his hands, almost begging for a reason to strangle someone. Quatre nodded enthusiastically at this idea, but Heero frowned, shaking his head negative.

"Well, Trowa, Quatre, and I are all for asking directions. That's majority!" Duo chirped happily. "Besides, there's two girls over there we can ask." The other four looked to where Duo was pointing, spotting the said girls. They were both blonde-haired, blue-eyed, teenage girls chattering on about God only knows what, laughing every few seconds.

"Women? Maxwell, there is no way. We'll ask him instead!" Wufei exclaimed, pointing. A collective sweatdrop seemed to form over them as they followed Wufei's finger.

"That's a toddler." Trowa said calmly.

"So what? He's probably got more sense than those stupid blonde onnas!" Wufei exclaimed, looking quite red in the face under Trowa's even gaze.

"Let's just ask them, please?" Quatre pleaded. After a few more angry protests, and calm rationality, which only came from Trowa, the group made its way down the sidewalk, towards the idle blondes.

The first to notice them was the one on the left, her blonde locks pulled back with a large, festive red bow. Her eyes were a few shades paler than her companion's, but they twinkled as she whispered in her ear.

The other girl turned to them, a wide grin on her face, and whispered something back. Her hair was twice as long as her friends and pulled up in oddly round buns, with streamers falling all the way to her calves. The two of them giggled at their exchange, but sobered when the five boys finally reached them. No one said anything for several minutes, until one of the blonde's finally broke.

"Can we help you?" The girl with the bow asked, lips twitching with suppressed laughter. Quatre flushed with embarrassment, realizing how ridiculous they looked by walking up to someone and then standing there silently. The redness of his cheeks must have amused the girls further, because they started to giggle again, which placed a nasty sneer of Wufei's face. He stayed quiet, though, folding his arms and averting his gaze elsewhere.

"We're sort of new around here, and we can't seem to find our apartment building." Duo offered, sensing his fellow pilots weren't talking anytime soon. He grinned at the two blondes, and they grinned back. Wufei huffed under his breath, finding the display of idiocy disgusting

"No problem, I know this city like the back of my leg. Where to?" The bow-girl boasted, causing her pigtailed companion to sweatdrop. She tugged on her friend's sleeve.

"Minako-chan! It's the back of your hand not the back of your leg!" She exclaimed, causing her friend to redden a little.

"Whatever, it's not important, Usagi." Minako retaliated, brushing it off and quickly changing the subject. "Where did you say you were going?"

"Babylonian Apartments," Heero announced, seeing the perplexed look on Duo's face.

"That's on the way to my house! I can so take you there!" Minako said cheerfully. Usagi, who'd taken to staring Heero down since he'd spoken moments before, grinned at Minako brightly.

"I'll go too so I can beat all your Sailor V high scores!" The blonde nearly shouted, pumping her fist in the air with excitement. She remained oblivious to the fact that all five of the boys were now staring at her intently, but Minako noticed.

"What is it?" she asked.

"If you don't mind me asking, who or what is Sailor V?" Quatre asked, placing his words carefully. The two blondes shared a look of horror before Usagi jumped into an explanation.

"Sailor V is the coolest, cutest, best super hero ever!" A blush appeared on Minako's cheeks, unnoticed by the lot of them who were absorbed in Usagi's enthusiasm. "She has all kinds of video games, manga, and even movies!"

"I see," Quatre smiled, and the previously unnoticed tension dispersed almost instantly.

"It's getting kind of late, we should get going," Minako said, getting instant agreement from the five boys. As they walked, Wufei hung to the back of the group, muttering something incoherent. Trowa followed silently behind an overzealous Minako explaining all about Sailor V to Duo and Quatre, while Usagi busied herself with trying to get a word or two out of the perfect soldier, beyond 'Hn.'

"Do you ever use full sentences?"

"Hn."

"Is that your favorite word?"

"Hn."

"Well then, what is?"

"..." Duo looked over from Minako's exaggerated hand gestures to Usagi's frustrated face, grinning.

"Trust me, Blondie, you don't wanna know his favorite word." He piped in nonchalantly, causing Heero to glare at him as expected. Usagi huffed up, apparently unsatisfied with this.

"Why wouldn't I want to know?" She asked.

"Just because," he shrugged

"Tell me!" Usagi demanded.

"Nope." The blonde threw her arms up in frustration, which must have seemed comical to the braided youth, because he burst out laughing. She sighed in defeat and turned her attention to Trowa. Before she got a word out to the other silent one, a voice interrupted her.

"I can talk I just choose not to speak." Duo, who had still been laughing, looked like someone had hit the pause button on him. Quatre was staring in shock, Wufei had raised an eyebrow, and Trowa...well he was still Trowa. Usagi turned back towards the Prussian-eyed boy and beamed at him. They stood there for a full thirty seconds, Heero's expression completely blank, before Minako cleared her throat.

"We should get going." She declared, pointing at the ever darkening sky. Quatre nodded at her, abandoning his shocked expression, and the two of them got the group walking again.

"So...how old are you guys?" Usagi questioned, ignoring the strange tension that had settled over them. Her inquiry only seemed to increase the tension, however, and Heero was forced to answer again.

"Seventeen" Apparently, he was the only one who'd thoroughly inspected the mission folder they'd been given, because no one else seemed to know they were posing to be a year younger. Well, maybe Trowa, but he didn't look like he was talking anytime soon.

"Wow, we're the same age!" Minako said jovially, clapping her hands together. "What high school are you guys going to?"

"Juuban," Heero replied automatically, realizing he was the only well-informed person willing to speak among them.

"Great, you guys can meet Rei-chan, Mako-chan, and Ami-chan!" Usagi nearly squealed. Minako stared at her, wondering why her blonde companion would want to share this bishounen parade with anyone. Then again, they'd be going to school with them and would undoubtedly have fan clubs by the end of their first day.

She looked over at Usagi again, who was bugging Heero to speak with renewed vigor. He, however, had abandoned any response and was staring ahead of them, looking pensive. Quatre and Trowa were equally silent, observing their surroundings indifferently. Duo had drifted back to walk with Wufei, and was whispering into the Chinese boy's ear enthusiastically. When he noticed her gaze, he winked at her.

"Almost there!" Minako announced, turning back towards their walking direction to hide the blush on her cheeks. How lame was she to be caught staring? Duo let out a cheer, his stomach grumbling noisily along with him. Minako smiled faintly as she turned the corner to their street.

The stretch of concrete had its usual assortment of shops and whatnot, but on the far corner raised a towering building, standing at least sixteen stories. The steel shone in the setting sun, glinting off the huge silver letter near the top of the building. '_Babylonian Apartments, quality apartments for your housing pleasure._' Usagi was gaping at the building openly.

"You guys are staying there?" She asked, not moving her eyes from the huge structure. Duo grinned cheekily at her.

"What, is it too big for your tastes?" He jested, but the blonde just shook her head, mumbling a 'never mind.' They reached the building in silence before exchanging good-byes, Heero effectively flooring everyone again by waving slightly to the enthusiastic Usagi, who was waving both her arms in the air.

* * *

After locating their room, eating, showering, and whatnot, the pilots convened to their new living room. As expected, Duo immediately singled out the perfect soldier, playful grin on his lips.

"I think Hee-man has a crush." The brunette jested, smiling brightly through Heero's venomous death glare.

"Unlike you, I'm concentrating on our mission. Am I the only one who noticed that those two held striking resemblances to the sailor senshi we're looking for?" Duo quieted. His grin faded as Heero threw one of the Sailor Moon pictures down on the coffee table. "How many people have a hairstyle like that?"

"He's got a point." Trowa cut in. "But, the sailor senshi are really popular heroes here in Tokyo. They have a lot of fans, and this girl could just be a really avid fan. You all saw the way she described Sailor V."

"Not to mention we'd never be that lucky." Duo muttered, mostly to himself.

"Well, at the very least, we've pegged a likely suspect."

* * *

See? It's horrible. I'll post more later on depending how much of this crap I feel like typing up and rewriting.

♥SachiNyoko♥ "I would like to have a codename too. Let's say... Firefighter Wind?" (Zechs)


	2. Welcome to Juuban High!

**Important tidbit of information: **I know the senshi don't all go to the same school, but for the sake of the story they'll all be attending Juuban High. Also, Rei isn't referring to Usagi as odango or odango atama, but there's a legitimate reason for that. You just won't know it until later.

**Dedication: **Normally I don't dedicate, but recently I've gotten into it...anyways, this is to **Flame Ivy Moon **because you review pretty much everything I put out, and it's always complimentary. Thank you so, so much!

* * *

Minako and Usagi lay sprawling over the former blonde's bed, all Sailor V games forgotten momentarily. They'd called Usagi's parents, and with much reluctance due to school the next day, received permission for the pigtailed girl to spend the night at Minako's. Sparse conversation had floated between them, but they'd thus far avoided the five boys they'd met mere hours before. 

"So anyways...those guys were **so** hot!" Minako finally squealed, sitting up Indian-style and grinning widely. Usagi nodded vigorously as she followed suit, facing her friend with a dreamy look on her face. "Especially Duo, ne?"

"Well, I'm fond of Heero myself. His voice gave me shivers. He should talk more." Usagi resolved, smiling to herself. Each girl drifted in their own little world, relishing their dream marriages to their new-found obsessions, when the phone rang. The loud, shrill noise startled the ditzy girls into falling off the bed, and then sweatdropping. Minako crawled back up and lifted the phone from the receiver, automatically switching to the speaker phone.

"Hello?" She called in the machine, a little too loud, for the girl on the other end cursed.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Rei's voice came from the speaker, sounding more annoyed than concerned. Minako laughed sheepishly.

"I just fell off my bed, sorry." She explained. Rei's laughter echoed around the room as Usagi crawled back onto the bed, rubbing her sore skull.

"Usagi-chan's parents said she was over at your house. I was just calling to remind everyone of our senshi meeting tomorrow." Rei's amusement was apparent in her voice, which caused Usagi to grumble under her breath and Minako to giggle at her.

"Thanks, Rei-chan, we completely forgot about that!" The senshi of love exclaimed into the phone, not mentioning the five reasons why it'd slipped their minds.

"I had that feeling." The priestess said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, then. Bye Usagi-chan! Bye Mina-chan!"

"Bye Rei-chan!" They chorused, ending the call. Afterwards, they agreed on going to sleep, anxious to get beauty sleep for their 'dream guys.'

* * *

_Next Morning-6 a.m._

After some vigorous shaking, Minako resolved to throw a few handfuls of ice on Usagi to wake her up. She'd shrieked and yelled for a few minutes, before the other blonde explained her intentions. They'd promptly showered, dressed for school, and set out towards Babylonian Apartments. Usagi had borrowed one of Minako's school uniforms since they hadn't stopped by her house.

Of course, they'd realized that the five boys from the previous night had no clue how to get to Juuban High, and from last night's fiasco, concluded they didn't have much directional skill. When they arrived, the boys were expectantly fighting over their map outside of the building. Usagi immediately interrupted the argument with her enthusiasm.

"Good morning!" She called, waving her arm in the air. They immediately quieted, their previously upset demeanor vanishing, and Quatre offered them a smile.

"Good morning Usagi-san, Minako-san." He greeted, while Wufei scowled at them.

"No need for formalities, call me Usagi-chan or Usa-chan!" The blonde said cheerfully. "We've come to escort you to school, since obviously you don't know how to get there."

"Thank god, Heero would have had us hours late." Duo said cheerfully, earning a glare from said perfect soldier. Minako and Usagi both giggled, and then motioned for the group to follow them, which they happily did. Well, except for Wufei who was internally complaining about relying on the two most ditzy, stupid girls he'd ever met to get them to school on time.

The walk to school wasn't much different than the walk to their apartment the previous night, Usagi bugging Heero to talk to her again, and Minako launching into a detailed description of Sailor V once more. Before they knew it, the huge building of Juuban High was staring them right in the face, along with three other girls who seemed to know them. Somehow. Or they just liked gawking at people.

"Ohayo!" Usagi called, waving enthusiastically at these three gaping teenagers. Shocked out of their staring stupor, the girls waved back. "Guys, I'd like you to meet my other three best friends. The blue-haired genius is Ami, the drooling brunette is Makoto, and the slightly angry looking raven-haired one is Rei. As for the boys: the one with the braid is Duo, the blonde is Quatre, the pony-tailed one is Wufei, the guy with one eye is Trowa, and the glaring one is Heero."

An awkward silence followed this cheerful yet odd introduction, while Usagi smiled on blissfully. Although unorthodox, the method of introduction was effective, for as they looked at each other the description stuck with the name and the face. Makoto, though, was no longer drooling, but blushing and rubbing at her mouth. Usagi, being herself, was unfazed by the unease, and she looked over Heero's shoulder as he consulted his schedule.

"Wai! You have the same homeroom as we do!" She exclaimed. Turning to the other four boys, she went on, "What homeroom do you guys have?"

"We all have the same one." Duo replied, pointing to his schedule. Usagi cheered further.

"We can show you to homeroom, if you'd like." Minako offered, grinning at the hyper Usagi. The other blonde nodded with much enthusiasm. There were no objections all around, except for Wufei, but he wisely kept them to his self. Usagi and Minako fell into step with the other three girls, a good distance in front of the five boys, and began to talk nonstop. Heero, for one, was glad to be free of Usagi, and even Quatre and Duo were pretty relieved to not have Minako chattering about Sailor V.

Once at the classroom, the five girls walked inside and subconsciously took their normal seats in class. The pilots, not having normal seats and not knowing anyone else, fell into seats beside them. Their good looks were attracting unwanted attentions from the females present, well unwanted for everyone except Duo.

Apparently Usagi got bored in her conversation with Rei, because she turned towards Heero in the middle of the violet-eyed girl's sentence and said, "You know everyone is staring at you, right?"

"Usagi!" Rei seethed, earning a giggle from the blonde in question. Usagi waved her hand dismissively at her friend's anger, still grinning with amusement. Her expectant blue eyes never left Heero, though, as she waited for an answer. As soon as the new staring girls realized that the vivacious blonde knew one of their new, and gorgeous, classmates, they all turned into evil psycho demons. You know, typical teenage girls with infatuations.

"I'm still waiting," Usagi said in a sing-song voice, smiling brightly through Heero's most venomous glare. Unbeknownst to her, she was also smiling under the evil psycho glares of evil psycho demons, stalking her like a pack of wolves. Surprisingly, she wasn't as unaware of these evil psycho demons as I've let on, for she turned towards the lot of them and smiled even wider.

"Do I have something on my face, darlings?" Her cheeky attitude threw them off. Satisfied, she turned back towards Heero. Though unwavering on the exterior, he had to admit he was surprised at her courage. Even he was a little afraid of Relena at times, when she stopped being composed and became the typical teenage girl with an infatuation also known here as an evil psycho demon. A whole pack of them might have had him running for his life, or at least self-destructing.

"Hey Heero, watcha thinkin' 'bout?" Usagi pressed, waving a hand in his face. Caught off-guard, he grabbed her around the wrist and twisted her arm until she yelped in pain. The class silenced as they looked at the spectacle, and Heero immediately released her. She rubbed her arm, at the shoulder blade, and blinked away the water that had unwelcomingly sprung in her eyes.

"Are you okay, Usagi?" Rei asked, glaring angrily at the chocolate-haired boy. He, of course, glared back with equal force. Usagi nodded.

"I'm fine, but geez! Remind me not to mess with you when you're spaced out!" She laughed cheerfully, relieving the tension that had set over her senshi and the other four pilots as well. Gradually, chatter of the other students built back up too. Usagi grinned brightly again, directing it full force at Heero. "Don't worry about it, I'm not mad. I hit people in my sleep sometimes too, right Rei-chan?"

"Right..." Rei trailed, still openly glaring at Heero. He, however, was completely ignoring her at this point.

"Class, settle down." The teacher called as she walked into the room. Everyone rushed to sit in their seats, and stared up at the woman attentively. "Before anything else, I'm sure you've noticed our new students. Would the five of you like to come up and introduce yourselves?"

Of course, the five wouldn't _like_ to come to the front of the class, but the phrasing of the question was not meant to be the option it sounded like. So they went up to the front anyway, and Duo introduced them all instead of them introducing themselves. The teacher seemed satisfied and sent them to their seats once more. Afterwards, she took attendance and left the students to do whatever they wanted.

For the first time that morning, Usagi was completely silent, so Heero had to investigate the reason for this to see if he could exploit it later if possible. The source of her attention was a sketchbook, and not very exploitable, for the notion of pulling out a sketchbook at random to quiet someone wasn't very orthodox. Then again, he mused, nothing about Usagi was very orthodox, from her weird hairdo to her overenthusiastic demeanor.

Suddenly, the blonde looked up and studied him with a look of concentration. He quickly averted his gaze, scowling at the back of the person in front of him. This person shivered, obviously getting the chills from being glared at, even if he wasn't fully aware. Usagi quickly turned back to her sketchbook and continued on. After a few moments, she put her pencil down and showed the page to him, even though he was turned away.

"What do you think? I started it last night but I waited to finish it now so I could see your facial features." She waved the sketchbook around to get his attention, and despite his efforts not to, he looked at the image. It was a sketch of him, obviously, and a pretty good one at that. Usagi seemed to read his reaction in a positive way, because she smiled brightly. "I've been drawing ever since I met this Sailor V artist a couple years ago. I've gotten decent with practice."

The rabbit might've explained further, but the bell rang to signal the end of homeroom. She closed her sketchbook and shoved it back into her bag before rising to her feet. Rei was waiting patiently for her, still sending haughty glances at the perfect soldier. He was still ignoring her, though. Usagi ignored Rei too, and looked at Heero's schedule over his shoulder like she had before.

"Wai! We have math together first thing! How lucky," she chirped. For Heero, it wasn't so lucky, but of course he kept this to himself. Rei looked slightly upset, seeing as she didn't have math first and didn't want Usagi alone with this creep. She realized quickly, however, that Makoto _did_ have math first with Usagi, and felt quite relieved.

* * *

Wai! That's my new word and Usagi's new word too.

First off, I know it looks like I'm completely absorbed in this Usagi/Heero thing, but I will distribute time among all the couples so don't fret too much. Second, did you enjoy my lame humor? I generally dislike teenage girls, so I refer to them as evil psycho demons on a regular basis, even though I am one myself. Oh the irony. Or something like that.

If you haven't noticed, I'm so lazy that I don't have the motivation to type up something already written. I'm a loser, feel free to hate me.

♥SachiNyoko♥ "I'm surprised, Heero. You really turn up in the most unexpected places." (Duo)


	3. Oh no! A battle!

Math class, not surprisingly, was no grand adventure. Even with the added elements of gorgeous new classmates, the complexness and chaos of the number universe was simply too heavy. All girl giddiness was suffocated, much to Heero's great relief. Add in that the chocolate-haired teen was a math whiz, and it was the first moment of the day he actually enjoyed. That is, until, one struggling soul realized he provided a source of help and distraction.

"Heero-san, could you help me with this?" Usagi pleaded, slipping her completed answer sheet under her text book, out of sight. Prussian eyes glared at her, not missing a moment of her 'skillful' maneuver, and mumbled his usual, "Hn." Cursing mentally, she tugged her answers free and scooted her chair over to his desk. "I just need to check my answers."

"The answers to the problems are in the back of the book. We were assigned odds." Heero said grudgingly, opening the blonde's text to the answers in the back and scooting her chair back to her own desk. Usagi pouted, accepting defeat, and leaning over to Makoto instead. The brunette was more than happy to abandon her half-completed homework and chat it up with the rabbit.

* * *

After school, the ten acquainted teenagers congregated at the school gates with a mixture of emotion. Duo chatted merrily with Minako and Makoto, while Ami discussed something or other with Quatre. Heero appeared his usual emotionless self, but on closer inspection there seemed to be an angry twitch in his left eye. Usagi, the obvious source of this twitch, hummed clueless beside him. 

Rei hung behind them, rolling her eyes ever so often, while behind her trailed Trowa and Wufei. The Chinese boy looked extremely annoyed, as would be expected, and Trowa was his usual indifferent self. As they paused in front of Juuban High, a hush set over the group. Usagi, however, was never fond of hushes.

"Well, I'm going home to take a nice bath and read some manga. Maybe even con Shingo into giving me a massage..." The blonde turned away, still mumbling the things she planned to do at home to herself. Looking quite annoyed, Rei grabbed the back of her uniform and tugged the blonde backwards.

"Usagi-chan, we have study buddies today. I called you and reminded you last night!" The raven-haired girl grumbled. Usagi chuckled sheepishly.

"Oh yeah, you did, silly me. See you guys tomorrow, assuming you don't get lost and wander into oblivion or anything." She joked, waving goodbye to the five boys as she left with everyone for the Hikawa Shrine. Along the way, Minako and Usagi continuously complained about the long walk and their aching feet, while Rei told them to stop whining. After they'd arranged themselves in typical senshi-meet fashion, Makoto spoke up.

"Those guys are _so_ hot!" she gushed, getting a familiar dreamy look about her features. Usagi and Minako nodded enthusiastically, looking like a twin set of bobble head dolls. Ami turned a nice shade of pink, coughing a little but not responding to the brunette's comment. Rei sighed.

"Yes, we all can see they're gorgeous. That judgment aside, does anyone else find them suspicious?" She questioned, making the girls go quiet. They shared glances, Usagi and Minako looking quite crestfallen.

"Rei's quite right. Five mysterious new students all at once, there's a good chance they're working for our enemy. We know they're getting desperate these days." Ami said, casting glances around the room. Usagi nodded somberly.

"Considering recent battle tactics, I'd say they're out to destroy us at all costs. We have to be careful." As she ended her sentence, the ground beneath them started to tremble. Without words, the girls made eye contact and nodded silent agreement.

"Moon Celestial Power!"

"Mars Celestial Power!"

"Venus Celestial Power!"

"Mercury Celestial Power!"

"Jupiter Celestial Power!" The room was filled with a blinding, rainbow-hued light for several seconds. When it died down, five sailor senshi stood in the place of the seemingly ordinary high school teenagers

Usagi's transformation resembled an evolved Eternal Sailor Moon. She still sported a set of white, angelic wings, but these were more delicate and feathered. Her gloves were white, and instead of her natural look she wore a silver lipstick with matching eye shadow. In her right hand stood a staff slightly taller than her, topped with a winged heart ornament. Her choker and earrings also bore these winged hearts, as well as the emblem on her chest.

The bow itself was silver, along with her skirt and the collar of the sailor outfit. The costume rounded out with a pair of silver, knee-high boots. Mars's skirt bore its usual scarlet color, but now every other pleat was silver. The choker around her neck was red, along with her collar, her boots, and the gem on her bow. The bow was silver, as were her gloves, and the gem in her tiara was ying-yang red and silver.

Her lipstick was done so that the top lip was silver, and the bottom red. The thing that stood out from the whole uniform, though, was the large wings, completely consisting of fire. The other three senshi matched Mars's attire, in their respective colors. Mercury had wings of ice, Jupiter had lightning, and Venus had glowing orange wings. The group of heroines didn't hesitate to take flight.

Using Mercury's computer, they located the source of the disturbance with ease. As they approached, they landed on a nearby rooftop to observe the scene.

* * *

-Gundam Wing P.O.V.- 

Heero lay in his full-sized bed, face buried into his pillow as he tried to throw off the extreme headache he had, thanks to a certain blonde girl. His long ago finished homework assignments were stacked neatly on the desk, next to his closed laptop.

Just as he was hovering on the brink of relaxation, he felt the bed beneath him tremble. The spring mattress squeaked with the movement, making Heero sit up straight. As he did so, his bedroom door sprung open, revealing a breathless Quatre.

"Heero, there's something outside, some kind of monster." Any normal person might've laughed, or at least offered a skeptical look, but Heero didn't exactly fit in the normal category. Without even questioning the Arabian boy's statement, he grabbed his gun from the bedside table, stuck it in his pants, and chased after the blonde boy. The two teenagers nearly skidded into the entry doors to the apartment complex.

The remaining three pilots were already on the scene, guns drawn, and shooting wildly at what could accurately be described as a monster. At first glance, it looked to be an oversized flower, the face on it giving the effect of some Wizard of Oz defect. The stem split near the bottom to form functioning legs, and vines effectively acted as the creature's arms. Though being hit with an array of bullets, the flower was laughing merrily, absorbing each one of the projectiles.

Quatre and Heero pulled their guns as well, but the prussian-eyed boy had a feeling they wouldn't be much help. His instincts proved true, for the flower continued to giggle. Finally, it counterattacked, its vine arms splitting further and wrapping around the five pilots. They put up quite the struggle, but it didn't take them long to realize that the creature was draining their strength.

* * *

Celestial Sailor Moon scrutinized the scene below her, a frown marring her lips. Rei had been right; there was more to those new students than they let on. Normal teenagers didn't carry around guns. She barely flinched as the youma caught all five of their classmates with its vine arms. 

"Shouldn't we help?" Venus inquired, sounding slightly anxious. Moon didn't respond, watching intently as the gun slipped out of the blonde's, she believed his name was Quatre, fingers. Nodding finally, she jumped from the rooftop, maneuvering her wings to slow her descent. Her landing was a little less graceful than she'd anticipated, but she quickly recovered and stood straight.

Calling out her very first attack, she removed her tiara and shouted, "Moon Tiara Action!" The effect was as expected. The spinning disc sliced through the vines easily, and the five boys collapsed limply to the sidewalk. Moon caught her tiara, replacing it on her head. Her eyes studied them briefly, noting none of them attempted to rise, before focusing on the youma.

"So, it's Celestial Sailor Moon and her team of flunkies. Now I'll have some real fun!" Moon grumbled, having been cut off before she could recite her speech. She put her guard up as the youma raised its vine arm towards the sky, expecting attack. A beam of light shot straight into the air, and then there was silence. The senshi shared a perplexed look, before they realized the purpose of the light; a flare.

Two very large, metal machines descended from the open sky, hovering around the plant youma. A sinister grin lit up the flower's face, before it screamed, "Attack!"

"Scatter!" Moon yelled, immediately after. The senshi didn't need telling twice. They all split into separate directions, turning to face the two suits. One immediately targeted Jupiter, sending the tall brunette hopping rooftops, dodging the gunfire. The other one went at Moon, who braced herself for battle.

"Suit 2, go after Venus! Moonie is mine." The mechanical monster switched directions and rocketed toward the other blonde senshi. Moon turned towards the flower monster, an angry look about her.

"I'm tired of this 'Moonie' crap already! Come up with something new!" The pigtailed soldier charged at this. Meanwhile, Mercury and Mars landed in front of the five pilots, some of which had already come to. Heero was rested on his knees, watching the battle take place intently. Duo was checking himself over for injuries, while Quatre was just stirring. Trowa was standing, observing the battle with his visible green eye.

"Are you guys okay?" Mars asked, obviously not enthusiastic about helping the group of boys. After all, there was a good chance now that they really were enemies. Quatre sat up at these words, rubbing his sore head. When he pulled his hand back, there was blood smeared across his palm. Before he could even react, he felt someone's finger lightly tough his forehead.

"You've got a nasty cut," Quatre jumped, looking up sharply. His eyes met a pair of deep blues, and a girl smiling lightly at him. As her finger touched the wound a second time, he felt a cold sensation across his forehead. Pulling a light blue bandage from seemingly nowhere, she wrapped it around his head bandana-style, and tied it. "There, all better."

"We were just offering to help, you jackass!" Mercury turned, staring at the infuriated Mars. The subject or her anger was apparent in the Chinese boy she was glaring at. He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest before returning the glare full force.

"None of us need help from some weak onnas." Wufei sneered, amused as the raven-haired girl puffed up with her anger. Her face was flushed, and she looked like she wanted to punch him.

"Mars! Mercury! Get your asses out here!" Jupiter yelled, making both senshi turn. They immediately took flight, rejoining the battle. Moon was currently dodging the cliché razor leaf attack from the plant youma, while Venus and Jupiter played cat and mouse with the mobile suits. A leaf went flying by Moon's head, grazing her left cheek, and she growled.

"Guys, time to finish this!" She shouted to the others.

"About time," Jupiter grumbled, getting into an attack stance. She raised both arms towards the sky, the power crackling around her hands, and shouted, "Jupiter Lightning Tornado!" The sky above them darkened substantially. With an echoing crack, bolts of lightning struck down at the mobile suit, whirling like a cyclone. They hit the huge metal machine, effectively frying it.

"I've got this one!" Mars called, turning towards the other suit. A smile lit up her violet eyes as she placed her palms together, outward from her chest. A small flame flickered to life between them, and her long onyx hair blew upwards with the emitted power. Eyes narrowing in concentration, she yelled out, "Mars Spirit Inferno!" The huge blaze hit the mobile suit dead on, causing the whole machine to explode.

As the inner senshi moved to assist Celestial Sailor Moon, she held her hand up to halt them. Summoning her staff to her, which she had banished early to better dodge, she closed her eyes and focused. The staff began to glow, and change shape in her hands. Growling, the youma threw another barrage of razor leaves towards the pigtailed leader.

"Mercury Celestial Freeze!" The icy attack intercepted the leaves, freezing them in midair. They hung for a nanosecond before plummeting to the street, where they all shattered. By this time, Moon was holding a sword in the place of her staff. The hilt was wrapped in a soft Lunarian cloth, the blade reflecting the streets around her. Moon reopened her eyes, gripping the sword tightly in her hands.

"Lunar Eclipse Blade!" The symbols carved into the blade began to glow, and Moon charged swiftly forward. Before the youma could even move, she had slashed it through. The plant let out a screech, dissolving into nothingness. There was a brief moment of silence before the senshi erupted into cheers, adding a victory dance for good measure. After they heard Duo's laughter, however, they immediately ceased.

"Do you guys do that after ever fight?" The braided youth asked, still chuckling. The senshi all screamed 'NO!' at the same time, which sent him into another fit of giggles. Once he was finished, Moon stepped forward.

"Are any of you hurt?" Her blue eyes scanned the five of them, who shook their heads. She paused on Heero, who instinctively shifted, which caused him to flinch. A wry smile appeared on the rabbit's face as she walked closer to him. When he tried to jerk away from her, she gave him a very sharp look and snatched up his hand

"I'm not going to hurt you, baka, so hold still." Heero would've simply walked away, but part of him was sure he has a couple broken ribs. The girl in front of him closed her eyes, placing her other hand over his. As her hands started to glow, he felt the pain in his side ebbing away. Without warning, the blonde fell backwards, where Makoto caught her.

"See you around," She winked, and took flight carrying Moon, closely followed by the other senshi and leaving five pilots bursting with questions.

* * *

La la...lovely new henshin and attacks for the senshi. I know Usagi seems a little too leader-ish and talented, but this is after the StarS and she's been Sailor Moon for a long time. Experience goes a long way. 

Ho hum. Dunno what possessed me to work on this. Review!

♥SachiNyoko♥


	4. Persuasion or Pride and Prejudice?

Heero closed the apartment door behind the five Gundam pilots, still silently marveling at the absence of pain from his torso. They settled into collective seats around the dining table, while he settled for leaning against the counter, arms folded, Prussian eyes narrowed in concentration. Several moments passed before anyone spoke.

"Well, any thoughts?" Quatre initiated conversation, his pale blue eyes scanning the faces of his comrades. Duo dangled his braid in front of his indigo eyes, watching it sway back and forth, as he pondered.

"I have a thought. That was completely insane." He offered, only half joking as he said it. Wufei 'hmph'ed but did not comment, keeping his obsidian eyes on the tabletop.

"The mobile suits, were they Preventors? Are they working together with those alien creatures?" Trowa spoke next, but appeared to be thinking aloud more than anything else. They sat in silence for another stretch, until Heero finally deemed it time to give his input.

"The suits were dolls, unmanned and very basic. They could have come from anywhere. After comparing the personalities of Sailor Moon and Usagi Tsukino, they seem to be opposites, but it's still inconclusive as to whether they are the same person." His deep, monotone voice cut off, and he walked toward his room without another word. The rest of the pilots dispersed as well, content to let the matter rest for the moment.

**xXx**

'_Dear God, my head._' Usagi peeled her eyelids apart, trying to adjust to her blurry, disoriented vision. A familiar blur of raven hair appeared above her, and even through the haze, the blonde girl knew a scowl decorated Rei's expression.

"You idiot! You could have untransformed right there and gave away your identity to those boys, who may very well be our enemy! Not to mention, you would've compromised this information while helping one of these potential enemies, and a very ungrateful one at that!" The priestess paused in her rant as Usagi's hand clenched around her forearm.

"Rei, my head is throbbing," she managed to whisper, earning a mixture of annoyance and sympathy from her friend. A moment passed before Ami appeared, pressing a cold pack gently against her forehead. Usagi smiled with gratitude as she held the cool object against the epicenter of her headache. After a moment, her pain alleviated enough for her to sit upright.

The sight proved grim. Even Minako looked solemn in her seat, light blue eyes focused on her entwined hands. Makoto's eyes stared out the window, longingly, almost melancholy. Both Ami and Rei looked at her, waiting for her to say something.

With a sigh, she said, "It's obvious now that the five boys are not our allies, based on their reactions during the battle today. At least, what I seen of it." Rei and Ami nodded to confirm, and the other two girls finally brought their attentions to their leader. "I think we should continue being their friends in school, or they'll get suspicious."

"Right," Ami encouraged the suggestion with a smile, adding, "Really, the closer we get the better. Maybe we'll be able to anticipate their moves from a friendship vantage point. Still, we have to be extremely careful to not give away our identities."

"Yeah, like they always say, keep your enemies in a row!" Minako exclaimed cheerfully, startling them out of the somber temperament. The other girls sweatdropped.

"Even I can't understand what she meant on that one," Usagi conceded with a laugh, bringing the group into smiles again.

"I think you mean, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'" Makoto provided, her voice laced with mirth. Minako nodded her cheeks red from embarrassment, but laughing along with them nonetheless. The five girls giggled to themselves, trying to ignore the fact that they were the only defense for the earth. Trying to forget that they were really discussing enemy tactics and their duties; trying to be five normal teenage girls.

Later that evening, after the friends returned to their homes, Usagi settled in to work on her dreaded Science homework. Not five minutes in, the phone rang, and her mother called for her to answer.

"I've got it up here, Mom!" Usagi raised the receiver to her ear and heard the click of the line on her mother's end. Subconsciously her eyes traveled over the empty bedroom, imagining Luna nestled with Artemis over at Minako's and smiling. Suddenly, she remembered the phone, and said, "Hello?"

"Usagi-chan," the voice, though a bit thicker than normal, belonged undoubtedly to her dear friend Rei. Her cat shaped clock told her she'd only been gone from the Hikawa Shrine a little over half an hour, and bluntly reminded her of Luna again.

"What is it, Rei-chan? Did something happen?" The worry evident in the blonde girl's voice made Rei feel tinges of guilt, but she forced them aside and focused her intense violet gaze toward the ceiling, trying to collect her words.

"No, Usagi, everything is fine. I wanted to talk to you alone but I didn't want to worry the other girls, so I figured I would call." The raven haired girl finally answered. Usagi pushed the thoughts of her former guardian and pet to the far reaches of her mind, focusing solely on Rei and the anxiousness in her tone.

"I'm glad everything is fine. What do you want to talk to me about?" The pigtailed girl tried to keep her tone even so that Rei could concentrate on the conversation and not worry about her apprehension.

"I've just noticed," Rei's voice dropped in a way that let Usagi know she was serious and concerned, "I noticed you've been overly hyper recently. You know, like you're straining to be happy. I know you never really talked to any of us about what happened, so please, Usagi. If you need someone to talk to, I'm right here. All of us are. Don't kill yourself trying to lock it all up."

"Rei-chan," she couldn't push past the single name, her cerulean eyes brimming with tears. The emotions flowed through her freely, "Thank you."

"Also," the raven haired girl continued, her voice equally emotional, "even though you were a little stupid today, you've really grown up Usagi-chan. You're a great leader and Princess. I'm proud of you."

At that moment, Usagi wished her best friend was standing right in front of her so she could hug her tight enough to squeeze the air out of her. Instead, she crumpled into tears and laughed a little as Rei scolded her for reverting back to her crybaby ways.

**xXx**

"Hey Heero," one blonde bunny echoed faintly as she slid into her seat beside him. If Heero manifested as Duo for that moment, he may have dropped his jaw or uttered a cry of shock. Instead, he remained Heero Yuy through and through, his eyes only flickering slightly as they observed this strange new side of Usagi.

As he shared a glance around at the other four girls, he noted no significant change, nor in the pilots as an afterthought. When his eyes returned to the original specimen, he felt like rolling them in exasperation. Usagi's head nestled in her arms, and she was no doubt fast asleep.

"She doesn't kick into gear until second period, hence why her math grades usually suffer," Minako informed brightly from the desk behind the sleeping blonde, breaking conversation with Duo in the process. The chocolate brown haired boy turned back toward the front and wondered on the connection between Usagi and Sailor Moon.

Rei turned in her desk to look at the sleeping form of her best friend, tendrils of golden blonde haired tousled all around her face. Her mind wandered to their previous night's conversation, anxious at the stresses Usagi kept piling on her shoulders. That sunny smile proved a scarily effective mask for the troubles beneath.

"Is the stupid onna that important?" Rei turned her fiery violet eyes on Wufei, pinning him with their intensity, but only for a split second. He met her hard gaze with an equal of his own.

"Don't talk about her that way. Also, it's none of your damn business." The raven haired priestess informed in a clipped tone. Before Wufei could respond, Usagi shot straight upward in her seat.

"Blueberry muffin!" She nearly scared the wits out of the people immediately surrounding her, and she blinked with confusion as Rei started laughing at her. "What did I do?"

"Dreaming about food again, Usagi-chan?" The blonde immediately blushed and grinned sheepishly as she nodded her head.

"Why don't we go for a milkshake after school? We haven't been to the arcade in ages!" Minako suggested.

"I'm broke," Usagi pouted while the delicious chocolate milkshake ran away from her in her mind's eye. Then, she looked straight at Heero and a grin spread over her face. "Hey Heero, why don't you come with me? We can order a large and share!"

"I hate sweets." The Prussian eyed boy informed without emotion, his eyes not even diverting toward the blonde. Usagi and Minako made eye contact, the same look of horror etched on their eerily alike faces. In further creepiness, they simultaneously pointed a finger at Heero and declared, "_Alien!_"

Luckily the bell ended homeroom before any real pandemonium could ensue.

**xXx**

After school, Quatre walked into town on his own, intent on nullifying a sudden and intense craving for a French Vanilla cappuccino. He meandered down the street, gazing contentedly at the boutique windows and restaurants he passed. Past a block or two, he reached a corner café that looked fairly empty and decided to take his chances there.

The woman at the counter greeted him kindly, and after the platinum haired teen placed his order they shared some idle chitchat for several minutes. When he received the warm beverage he turned to pick one of the small round tables to occupy while satisfying his hankering for cappuccino. What he found surprised him.

"Hello," Quatre greeted, his eyes trained on the familiar crop of blue hair. Ami only appeared a little startled, but when her dark blue eyes met his pale, a warm smile spread over her face. In her hand she held an open paperback copy of Jane Austen's _Pride and Prejudice_. Even behind the reading glasses perched on her petite nose, her eyes sparkled.

"Hi Quatre-san. I'm surprised to see you here. Not many people I know come to this place." Another easy smile graced her as she invited him to sit across from her. Quatre felt the blush creeping into his cheeks as he accepted, falling into place just across from her. Ami closed her book, placing a slip of paper in to mark her page, and folded her reading glasses on the cover. To herself, she added, '_Truthfully, no one I know comes here_.'

"Maybe that's the reason you come." He suggested, blue eyes crinkling in a smile. Ami felt herself become the victim of a blush as he pegged her motives instantly, hardly even knowing her at all.

"Perhaps you're right." She answered neutrally, moving her hand over the table to grab her own drink. Quatre mimicked her movement, sipping his cappuccino and eyeing her identical cup with interest. She read his expression easily, "It's French Vanilla, my favorite."

"Mine too." The blonde acknowledge as he replaced the cup to its original position. They marveled at this common trait in silence for a moment before his clear blue eyes landed on her book again. "You're a fan of Jane Austen?"

"Oh yes, I've read all of her works. I realized a couple days ago that I hadn't read _Pride and Prejudice_ in a long while, so I decided to read it again." Ami smiled fondly at the book cover a while she spoke. Quatre noted the nostalgic expression on her features but decided not to call her on it. With a glint in her eye, she added, "Elizabeth is quite a character."

"She is, but I've always liked _Persuasion_ more than _Pride and Prejudice_." Quatre retorted. Ami's face lit up with innocent surprise at the declaration, and something in the notion tugged the Arabian boy from the moment. '_Innocent. She's innocent, Quatre. She's never seen the things you've seen, you can only ruin her_.'

"Oh, me too! I think it's because I relate better with Anne than Elizabeth. I've never met someone who favored _Persuasion_, though." The blue haired teenager looked delighted, but she paused when she noticed her companion's change in demeanor. Her slender hand covered his across the table, bringing their blue eyes together again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm okay." Quatre smiled reassuringly, feeling guilty for causing the worry he could feel clouding her mind. She returned the smile, but still looked concerned, and he still sensed the worry present with his empathy. He decided to switch the subject back. "I enjoy the way Anne and Captain Wentworth both try to avoid each other, but at the same time are subconsciously drawn to one another through their feelings, until finally Wentworth confesses."

"Yes," Ami nodded vigorously, her eyes alight as before and the traces of worry diminishing. She hesitated, her cheeks coloring slightly, before she said, "It may sound silly, but even though my friends are all very dear to me, I've never been able to talk with them over similar interests like these. I'm glad we ran into each other today."

Quatre smiled warmly at her words, his own comrades flashing through his mind as he considered her words. "Then we also share that sentiment."

The two carried on their conversation animatedly, jumping from topic to topic, sharing laughs and smiles, going through another cappuccino. By the time one of them looked at the window, dusk had made itself comfortable in the sky. They rose, convening outside the door of the café.

"Don't worry my mother works late nights. She's a doctor. I won't get into trouble. What about you?" Ami held her book in front of her and looked to him for an answer. Quatre could feel the anxious emotions returning to her.

"No, I'll be fine too. I should walk you home, it's getting dark." His eyes trailed over the street lights, expecting them to flicker on at any moment. With a slight smile, the girl beside him shook her head.

"I don't live too far, I should make it home before the lights come on. Thank you anyway, Quatre-san." The petite girl bowed slightly before she walked off down the sidewalk. She vaguely heard Quatre's parting words as he headed in the opposite direction, her mind drifting to their conversation and the conflicting emotions that passed through his eyes.

'_It's hard to believe,_' Ami thought as she let herself into her home, '_that he's the enemy_.' As she walked toward the kitchen, her transformation stick pressed gently against her leg with every step, tucked safely in her pocket.

**xXx**

Aha! Yes this is my long to be thought dead GW x SM extravaganza! The reason being...well...you know that huge chunk of the story said to be written? Vanished into thin air. I know. It's like I live in the Twilight Zone.

Anyway, I decided this is a good thing because the chunk that's now escaped into the abyss was just plain I'm going to gag horrible. This way, I might be able to save some face. So I will attempt to not asphyxiate this story and try not to be too depressed that this category has cobwebs growing over it.

Please, if you can hear me, write a GW x SM story!! -waves a sign that reads 'Please resuscitate' over the category- In the mean time, review this short chapter and expect some more in the near future.

On a final note, **_yes _**the fuku I imagined up is completely and utterly **_tacky_**. Keep in mind I wrote this in...er...seventh grade? Maybe eighth. -bows- I apologize. Also, the sword mentioned that Usagi used (also extremely lame) I originally imagined as an incarnation of the stone sword she used to commit suicide in the Silver Millennium. Originally anyway. Again, I couldn't be more sorry for the tacky fuku.

Thank you to all the reviewers!

-Sachinyoko


	5. Mutual Suspicions

Rei adjusted her priestess outfit so it fell perfectly into place. She brushed a few locks of ebony back into position, out of her violet eyes. Adding a bit more kindling to the flames in front of her, she dabbed lightly at the beads of sweat on her face, conjured by the waves of heat coming from the fire. The last time she consulted the fire was in the Galaxia period. Everything must be faultless now.

Then suddenly she began, her hands dancing quickly, forming the familiar symbols as she chanted. It felt like getting on a bike again after a long while, the skill came back easily. The flames grew, higher and higher, beads of sweat forming into drops that trickled down her face and stung in her eyes, blurring her vision slightly. Still she kept them wide and attentive.

The images came.

_Metal, machines, and an impossible stretch of stars; the bark of gunfire assaulted the silence. Bodies drenched in sweat weaving to avoid the bullets that bedded into crates and walls and left char marks on the concrete where their feet had just been._

_Explosions now, buildings being decimated, mobile suits shredded to rubble again and again. Then she saw them, the Gundams. Large, overpowering, slicing through enemies over and over like butter. _

Mission accepted_, the voice said, sounding so hauntingly familiar. Then the briefest flash of Prussian blue and another spark of gunfire._

_Then she saw the senshi, hopping the rooftops, killing youma, pushing onward. Faster, harder, she saw her friends giving everything until they made it back home, collapsing with exhaustion. Colorful peels of energy flying across battlefields, leaving blackened marks on the trees behind where a senshi had just been standing._

_All of them, Beryl, Galaxia, Nehelania, Mistress 9, more and more; they laid down their lives again and again without question, fading in and out like the sun at twilight._

We'll fight_, Usagi's voice, she knew by heart, firm and resolved. A glimpse of her azure eyes, clear as the sky, and the glow of the Ginzuishou._

_Out of nowhere then, a glowing computer screen, the faint tapping of keyboard keys, the senshi, the gundams, blood, blood, blood, blood, blo--_

Rei slumped forward, gasping for air. Jumping to her feet, she just made it through the sliding door before she wretched all over the grass outside. As her body shook with convulsion, she didn't see the last faint image flicker through the fire before the flames died down completely.

As she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her robe, she wondered, _what does it all mean?_

**xXx**

The next morning Rei walked into homeroom, pushing silken obsidian locks from her face distractedly. As she fell into her seat, she swept her violet eyes over the two groups, noting the odd silence of the morning. Usagi was snoozing lightly into her arms as usual, so Rei shook her awake and caught the attention of the other three.

"I think we should have another study group tonight." Rei said evenly, knowing that despite the fact they didn't make it obvious, those five boys were watching them intently. Usagi rubbed her eyes sleepily, and then gave Rei her best reproachful stare when she registered those words.

"We just had one a couple days ago," the blonde whined. "Give me a break."

Rei winced, because even though it was Usagi's typical complaining, the underlying honestly of the plea didn't escape her notice. Staying in her character, she rolled her eyes and said, "Get over it, Odango."

The violet eyed girl visibly flinched, wanting to hit herself for her stupidity that time. Heero, who had been listening in on this conversation, scrutinizing because he was sure there was a hidden motive to these weird meetings the girls seemed to frequently have, noticed the reaction Rei had to her statement. That wasn't the oddest thing, though.

Usagi appeared to fold into herself at these words. Her sparkling cerulean eyes darkened a few shades and she pursed her lips together, saying nothing. Rei pierced her with a pleading, apologetic gaze that warranted no reaction. Perplexed, Heero analyzed the statement again. Considering the barbs that usually flew between the two friends, he doubted that Rei telling her to get over herself caused such a violent effect.

_It must have been the name, Odango, _he reasoned, glancing at the silent, pigtailed girl, _but why? It's not offensive. It's actually quite apt, her hair looks like odango._

The bell rang, ending the session, but not the tension that hovered around the five girls. The two split, Rei heading toward her first period and Usagi toward her math. The blonde stayed rigid as she walked, but Rei sent one last melancholy glance before she disappeared into the crowd of students. Heero walked a few feet behind the pigtailed girl, matching her pace, observing her mood.

As they entered class she fell into her seat and Heero took his usual one aside her, still watching. Her expression stayed dull as she fished out her text book and binder, nodding once when Makoto asked if she was alright.

First period ended without a change, Heero suddenly regretted that he did not have second class with Usagi. He would see her again third for gym, and would look for a difference then.

**xXx**

Heero watched Usagi emerge from the girls' locker room in her shorts and tee shirt, face just as impassive as it had been the previous hour. Today was a volleyball day, and her fellow blonde, Minako, was bursting with excitement beside her. They lined up to prepare for the game, Heero a player on one side of the net, Minako and Usagi on the other.

Heero served first. He watched the ball sail over the net in slow motion, headed directly for the pigtailed girl whose eyes were on the wall. Minako rushed toward her; if he had been on that side of the net he could have easily deflected it. Minako made it a second too late, and the spaced out girl crumpled when the ball connected with her forehead.

"Someone take Tsukino to the nurse," their coach groaned. Minako opened her mouth to volunteer when Heero appeared in front of her, cutting off her words. He easily lifted the skinny teenager from the gym floor and carried her off, Minako looking after them wide eyed.

The walk to the nurse's office was short, thankfully, because Usagi became heavier the longer he walked. The nurse got him an ice pack on arrival and asked him to hold it in place while she went back to whatever she had been doing. It didn't take the blonde long to come to, moaning.

"Ah," she gave a start when she met Heero's cold, emotionless gaze. He removed the ice pack and placed it on the counter, letting the silence drift over them. A minute ticked by, before something most unexpected happened.

"Odango," Usagi glanced up, her expression one of blatant shock, confusion, and hurt. Heero frowned, thinking, _so it was the name after all_.

"Why did you call me that?" The pigtailed teenager asked softly, her eyes glazed over in a strange emotion.

"Why do you react that way?" Heero pressed, ignoring her question. He glanced toward the nurse, but she was paying absolutely no attention to them.

"It brings up painful memories." Usagi responded quietly, keeping her azure eyes fixated on his darker pair. "Don't you have painful memories? Things that you don't want to remember?"

"We all do," was Heero's response as he stood and headed back for the gym, his curiosity presently satisfied. Though his thoughts still nagged at him, asking, _why Odango? What memory?_

He was a bit surprised when he took his place in the line to play that Usagi had followed him back. She flashed a small smile in his direction as she rejoined the line and started a conversation with Minako. The rest of the day, her expression stayed carefree and cheerful.

**xXx**

"What's wrong, Rei-chan?" Makoto asked the question everyone else pondered since they left school. The five girls gathered around their usual table and focused attention on the raven haired priestess and her somber expression. Usagi had pardoned her for her slip earlier with a smile, lifting part of the day's burden from her shoulders, and now she wished to deposit the rest.

"I consulted the fire." Rei announced. She began describing what she saw, detail for detail, to her fellow senshi. They all listened attentively while she explained. "I have a theory about it, but you guys might think it's stupid."

"Rei-chan, we would never think that." Ami assured.

"I'm beginning to think that the first part of the vision is showing the pilots of the Gundams. And I think those five boys might be them. There are five Gundams, right? Five mysterious boys just happen to show up at the same time we've suspected there might be a faction working together with the new youma threat." Rei took a breath, gauging the reaction to her words.

"They do all live together," Minako put in to support the violet eyed girl. "It would explain why five people with completely opposing personalities stick together like they do. Also, why they carry guns and use them so well."

"But what does the vision mean? I mean, it shows the Gundam pilots and then us senshi. That's a mystery to me." Makoto said next. "And assuming those five are the pilots, are they here to help us or are they against us? We can't know for sure. The youma and these mobile dolls pose a threat to the peace, right? Maybe they're seeking us out to help."

"That's awfully wishful thinking," Rei mused quietly. "But it's not impossible. They didn't attack us during the battle the other day. They shot at the youma, right?"

"To me, the vision is showing how alike we are." The four girls all turned to Usagi, who had spoken for the first time in a while. Her face was contemplative as she spoke, a bit timid in tone, "I know I'm probably the most naïve out of us, but you see the connection, right? The Gundam pilots have fought for justice and the freedom of all of us. We as senshi have fought for justice and the freedom of everyone. We have two different kinds of enemies, and we fight in different ways, but essentially it is the same."

"So you believe they are allies?" Luna asked from the corner of the room, finally making herself and Artemis known. Usagi bit her lip, but neither confirmed nor denied the question.

Finally, she sighed and said, "I'm not sure. If they _are_ pilots, then they aren't just here, though. They have a mission and the success of ours may depend on finding out what their objective is." The pigtailed senshi drew in a breath to steady herself, and said, "Therefore, our goal remains the same as when we convened before. We continue to be their friends, stay close, and one more thing. Try to figure out what their goal is. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the other four chimed in unison.

**xXx**

"Is there anything new to report?" Heero asked, his gaze roving over his four comrades as they sat congregated in the living room of his apartment. After a brief silence, he continued, "After surveying other females of the school's population, I have found no one else who matches the descriptions of the Sailor Senshi as well as our current suspects."

"Me either. There are some personality gaps between the Sailor Senshi and the five girls, but the physical descriptions match." Quatre commented as he looked over the images laid out on the coffee table. Duo, who had one of the group senshi photos in his hands, chuffed and tossed the image of blurred faces back with the rest.

"Yeah, but those descriptions are vague at best. Face it guys, we have nothing solid to go on." He folded his hands behind his head and reclined in his seat, staring at the ceiling, thinking.

"Maxwell is right," Wufei said through gritted teeth, sounding as though agreeing with the braided youth was physically painful, "we've made almost no progress over the last week. We're basically trailing a group of useless females hoping to get lucky."

They all looked at Trowa, waiting for the silent pilot's input on the matter. Just when they thought he wasn't going to say anything, he began, "That is true to a point, but I know you guys have noticed it. The five of them are in their own bubble, if you will. They talk to other people, sure, but when they're together, there's a certain aura they give off, as though they trust each other completely."

"Like they know each other inside out," Quatre agreed, elaborating to the perplexed few of the group. "You can tell they've been together a long time, sort of like us. Especially since their personalities wouldn't normally fit together. It's an odd assortment, just like the Sailor Senshi. That's why they are the best lead."

"I agree." Heero stated, glancing at them again over his laptop screen as he typed up a mission briefing to Dr. J, "If nothing else, they are abnormal. We will continue to monitor them until we find more suitable suspects or they prove themselves to be the Sailor Senshi."

"That being said," Duo started cheerfully, sitting up straight in his chair again, "I've just developed a new tactic. I'm going to ask one of them on a date."

"You sure that's not just you being your usual idiotic self?" Wufei asked scornfully. Duo rose to his feet and shrugged, heading for the door.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit interested," he replied, throwing a cheeky grin over his shoulder before exiting the apartment all together. Wufei mumbled some choice words under his breath before leaving as well.

Heero finally shut the screen on his laptop and spoke to the remaining two, "I guess that's a meeting adjourned."

**xXx**

Makoto smiled to herself, relishing every detail of the moment. The steady tap of her tennis shoes on the concrete, the laughter of the children she passed, her rhythmic breathing as she moved forward. The tension built up in her muscles escaped with every exhale, and her smile widened as the endorphins hit. She absolutely loved to run.

That's when she spotted him, walking in the opposite direction, directly ahead of her on the path. Her steady run slowed to a jog, then a walk, and she stopped when they reached each other. Still a bit breathless, she offered the tall male her best smile and said, "Hello."

"Hey," he responded. A moment passed in silence, their eyes locked, before Makoto began to feel her nervousness.

"Well, you certainly are the strong silent type. Your name is Trowa, right?" He nodded, and she continued, "What brings you here, Trowa?"

"I just wanted some fresh air." Trowa responded. He knew this may be a good chance to become better acquainted with one of their suspects, and if he was lucky, learn something valuable to their mission. "Do you run here often?"

"Often enough," the brunette girl replied, a bit dodgy. _Or maybe I'm just paranoid_, Trowa thought to himself. Makoto's smile brought him back to their conversation, "Walk with me."

She turned, heading the direction that Trowa had been walking before, and they continued along the concrete path contentedly. "How do you like Juuban High so far?"

"It's alright." He answered, shrugging lightly. "The classes are a bit easy."

"Did you take advanced classes at your previous school?" Makoto inquired nonchalantly. Still, her emerald eyes scrutinized his every action while she waited on his response.

Trowa realized his slip up, but recovered easily, "No, but the curriculum moved at a faster rate. I guess you could say it was a bit more prestigious."

"I see." Makoto said. She didn't fail to notice the slight hesitation he gave before that. Of course, is she hadn't been looking very closely, she never would have seen it. _He is good. What if he is a Gundam pilot?_

"What are you thinking?"

"Oh," the brunette girl realized her expression must have shifted quite a lot while sorting through her suspicions. She grinned and said, "I was just wishing classes seemed that easy to me. You're lucky."

They reached the entrance to the park, and Makoto smiled, "Well, this is the end. See you around?" Trowa nodded, and they parted ways.

**xXx**

Don't you just love it when you get inspired and write out a whole chapter in one sitting? -beams proudly- Please review!

♥SachiNyoko♥


	6. Youma ahoy!

The sudden event happened on the five's walk to school. They stayed silent, not in the mood for idle chit chat that morning. The school, scarcely a block away now, represented another day of close scrutiny to the five girls and the monotony of classes full of things they already knew. That's when the creature appeared in the street, causing a swirl of chaos through the surrounding crowds.

The first youma the pilots had seen was basically an overgrown flower with a nasty temper. This one was absolutely gruesome, with slimy, shiny purple skin and black, cavernous eyes. It turned toward them, seeing as they were the only people to stick around, grinning manically. Before anyone could react the youma slung its arm in a wide arc, sending a wave of goop at their feet. The purple substance hardened the instant it touched their legs, rooting all five to the spot.

"It's been a while since I've feasted on living flesh. This should be fun." The youma grinned, its lips pulled back to expose two long sets of pointed, moss green teeth decorating its jaws. Without further words, it crouched slightly and charged at the five helpless boys.

Heero immediately pulled his gun and began firing off shots, hoping that this strange creature was not impervious to bullets like the previous one. The others may have joined, but they didn't think bringing armed weapons to school with them was the best idea. The perfect soldier would never allow himself to be so unprepared.

Against his anticipations, the bullets did absolutely no damage, and the youma was gaining speed as it approached, extending claws from its fingers that were an identical shade of green to its teeth. For a moment, it seemed the end to the Gundam pilots.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!" A chain of light whipped around the purple monstrosity, searing into its skin and earning an eardrum-shattering shriek as the youma was thrown into a nearby car. Following the glow of the chain before it disappeared, they saw Celestial Sailor Venus there in all her glory, a slight frown across her face. The other four senshi jumped in front of the pilots, quickly joined by the blonde.

"You five certainly have a knack for trouble," Jupiter commented, overlooking them with a slight distaste in her expression. Mercury twisted one of her blue earrings; a visor appeared over her eyes as she simultaneously pulled a blue mini computer with the symbol of Mercury on the cover. Moon and Venus both kept their eyes on the spot where the youma had not moved, tense and wary.

"We don't need your help, onnas," Wufei remarked in his usual derisiveness, earning the expected glare from the violet eyed Mars.

As Mercury continued her typing without comment, she sneered and said, "Don't bother, Mercury. They don't need our help. They'd rather be stuck to the street forever by youma slime." As Duo fumbled to declare that he did not agree in the least, she grinned evilly and added, "You know, I bet some fire would melt that stuff away in a snap."

She aimed her hands toward the scowling Chinese boy, but didn't get the chance to utter her attack before Moon turned with a frown, scolding her, "Don't joke like that."

Mars appeared slightly put off on being reprimanded by the pigtailed girl, but lowered her hands anyway, grumbling. A sickening sound filled the air, the youma's claws against the side of the car as it pulled itself upright. They assumed defensive stances aside from Mercury, who still worked on figuring out the alien substance.

"Hurry it up, Mercury. They're a liability." Moon said as the youma crouched to charge again. The blue haired scout nodded jerkily, but did not respond. They braced themselves for a second attack when the youma gave its green tooth grin again and, throwing its head back, let loose another shriek. The sailor senshi watched in horror while the two mobile suits descended from the heavens, larger and more intimidating. "Scratch that, Mercury. Start scanning those."

Mercury looked up and nearly let her mini computer slip from her gloved fingers. Standing and turning, she began typing with even more vigor than before, biting her lip nervously.

"We should take out the youma first." Venus suggested. Moon nodded her agreement and both of them leapt in different directions. Venus repeated her chain attack when the youma charged for the boys again, throwing it back a farther distance. Moon threw her tiara while it was vulnerable, causing minimal damage.

Mars and Jupiter still stood between the five boys and the two towering mobile suits waiting on some form of movement. "Got anything yet, Mercury?" Mars uttered, quietly, as though speaking too loudly may spark the enemies to attack.

"I'm almost there. My computer is moving slower than usually, almost like there's an interference of some sort." Mercury didn't betray any anxiety, but Mars and Jupiter shared a look far from confident.

Moon summoned her staff again and concentrated. The staff began to emit its soft glow, morphing slowly into its sword form. The youma was just picking itself up from Venus's last attack, her Crescent Beam Smash, when it shrieked again. They all felt their hearts stop when both mobile suits turned, a creak of machinery coursing through the air and raised the cannons on their arms.

Venus closed the space between herself and the other blonde startlingly fast. Moon tossed her sword right before Venus tackled her; it skidded down the sidewalk while the two of them rolled away from the shots.

"Venus Heart Surround!" Back on her feet almost instantly, the attack threw forth a slew of glowing orange hearts. The youma cackled as it sidestepped the attack, opening its toothy mouth to mock the senshi, when it noticed the hearts had not simply dissipated. They swirled around the youma and exploded all at once in a blinding flash.

"Have I ever told you I love that attack?" Moon grinned as she sprinted toward the youma, pausing only to scoop up her sword. The cloud of dust around the youma cleared, revealing the monster hissing in pain, black marks decorating its body. Without hesitating, Moon shouted, "Lunar Eclipse Blade!"

The youma gave one final shriek as the blade sliced it in half, and the mobile suits immediately opened fire. Moon and Venus cursed simultaneously as they jumped out of the way. "Mercury!"

"They're clear!" The blue haired senshi finally called. "Take them in the air!"

The two blondes immediately took flight, along with Mars and Jupiter. The raven haired senshi met Venus in the air, and they shared a look. "Venus Love-Me Chain!"

The glowing chain wrapped around the first mobile suit. She held on while the suit tried to break free, and Mars grabbed onto the chain as well. "Mars Spirit Inferno!"

The flames danced down the chain until they reached the suit. A loud explosion ripped through the sky. Meanwhile, Moon was barely dancing out of the path of many cannon beams, when she finally called down to switch places with Mercury. Jupiter nodded at her and the blue haired girl tucked away her computer. "Mercury Celestial Freeze!"

"Jupiter Lightning Tornado!" The ice came out in thin fragments that swirled into the twisting lightning. The combined attack shredded through the remaining suit, destroying it immediately. The five senshi reconvened in front of the five boys still stuck to the pavement.

"What'll we do about this now?" Jupiter asked, turning to Mercury.

"Well, any of our powers should break through, but we need an attack that won't harm them in the process." Mercury answered, placing a finger on her chin in though. "Considering, Sailor Moon is the only one of us to really use magic on humans. They were all possessed at the time, though."

"We'll all take one of them. Just use your powers without calling an attack, it should be fine." Venus reasoned. They spent a moment weighing the options, and conceded this was the best course of action. When Mars headed for Wufei, a strange glint in her violet eyes, Venus tugged her back and pointed toward Duo. She moved to help the Chinese boy instead, ignoring his murmurs of injustice.

"Why didn't you take out the mobile suits if you had the power to do so?" The whole group heard the question that Heero launched at the senshi leader, and they silenced, anticipating a scene of interest to come. Moon did not move her azure eyes away from the task at hand, her brow furrowed in concentration as the soft white glow emitted from her hands.

"We had never faced that particular kind of suit before." Heero had begun to presume she would not answer at all, but he was wrong. The crystallized purple gunk started showing a few hairline cracks where the energy was being focused. "There was no way of knowing whether there were people inside."

"Even if there were, they would have been enemies. Eliminating them is the logical course of action." The brunette teenager replied, his voice devoid of emotion. Moon wavered and her hands stopped glowing for a moment.

Once she regained her control, she responded in a slightly shaky voice. "We aren't mercenaries. We are sailor senshi." Their conversation had become the focus of both groups, and all was silent as Sailor Moon spoke. "We fight for love and justice. Killing someone without remorse, enemy or ally, isn't something I believe in."

Rising to her feet, she watched as Heero moved his legs once more, the immobilizing substance gone. Heero faced her, a hard glare turning his blue eyes icy. "Then you are weak."

"Maybe, but think about it this way. I still don't know whether you are my enemy. By your logic, I should have let you get torn to pieces by that youma. You would be dead." Moon flashed a half smile before she left the scene, her fellow senshi following. The five of them landed on the roof and untransformed.

"What was that all about?" Usagi turned, facing the angry priestess who spoke, her face drawn into a frown. Her deep sapphire eyes stared down at her open palms for a moment, and then she averted them to the sky.

"I let him get under my skin, okay? I should have ignored him, I know that." Rei frowned as well at this response.

"It may be a good thing. The more contradictory Sailor Moon's personality is with Usagi's, the less suspicious we will be, right?" Ami stepped in as the voice of reason, the other four girls turning toward her. "We might want to concentrate on being less like the senshi for a while."

"That's a good idea." Minako conceded.

"Hate to break up the session and all, but we'll be late if we don't move it." Makoto cut in. The five of them all rushed down the stairs, toward their homeroom then, sliding in the door just before the bell rang. They sat in their usual seats, returning to normal gossip mode so as not to seem suspicious.

"Hey," Minako turned in her desk and caught Duo's attention, smiling brightly. "Since there's no school tomorrow, we're all heading to the arcade after school. You guys want to join us?"

"Sure!" Duo agreed jovially, not even bothering to consult his four friends.

"Great! Meet us by the gate after school."

**xXx**

Yay short chapter! ;D Review!


	7. Arcades, movies, doubts

The group of ten teenagers entered the establishment dubbed the Crown Arcade, and the two blonde females immediately rushed the counter to greet Motoki. Once that was over, Minako challenged Duo to a match of Dance Dance Revolution and the two of them parted ways with the main group. Makoto proposed a race to Trowa, who hesitantly accepted and followed her toward the machine.

"I've never played," he said, watching as she slid into one of the two seats and smiled up at him.

"It's totally easy. Just sit." The tall brunette did as instructed, taking the seat beside her and watching her slide coins into the game. "It's just like driving a car. Pedals and steering wheel," she pointed to each. Trowa nodded as the count down to start began and placed his hands on the wheel.

Meanwhile, Usagi was digging through her wallet with determination. After a moment or two, she sighed dejectedly. _Less than a thousand yen_, biting her thumb nail she looked up at the menu. "Just a cherry soda is fine."

When she received her beverage she grabbed a straw and headed for the booths. Ami and Quatre had taken one to themselves, chatting it up about homework, or maybe a book, it was all Greek to her. So she slid in beside Rei, across from Heero and Wufei, and peeled the paper wrapping off her straw, watching the glare exchange between her best friend and the Chinese boy with amusement.

"Oh yeah, Heero," she caught his attention, as he had been staring off into space a moment before, and smiled, "I've been meaning to thank you for yesterday, for taking me to the infirmary."

"Why'd you go to the infirmary," Rei snapped, finally breaking off the dirty look contest she was just having to frown at the blonde. Heero just shrugged at her and continued his previous staring at nothing, while Usagi laughed and shifted uncomfortably in the booth.

"I got hit in the head by a rogue volleyball." She winced as Rei scolded her for being her usual clumsy self, but couldn't hide her smile for very long. Obviously tuning the priestess out, to her blatant frustration, she took to watching Minako and Duo duke it out on the DDR machine, their faces the epitome of concentration. Just as it looked to be a victory for Minako, her foot slipped on the right square and she crashed into Duo, knocking them both to the floor.

Usagi laughed, to the confusion of those sitting with her, but when their attention was pulled to the spectacle the two made, even Wufei smirked at their misfortune. As they collected themselves, Usagi shifted attention to Makoto and Trowa, who appeared to be quite absorbed in their race. _They must be on their third or fourth race by now_.

Suddenly she wondered what it may have been like, if none of them were senshi.

The gloom this common thought must have been apparent in her expression, so she smiled through Rei's concerned look. Minako and Duo squishing into the booth proved an effective distraction before the raven haired girl could comment. Just as they got settled again, marginally comfortable, a look of horror suddenly possessed the pigtailed girl's face.

"Oh no! Mom is going to kill me!" In her race to exit the booth, Rei ended up fairly disheveled and Minako ended up on the floor, complaining at Usagi's back as she rushed off, throwing a wave and an apology over her shoulder. Minako grumbled as she resumed her seat, but forgave her friend the instant she saw the cherry soda that had been abandoned.

"I thought you said you've never played!" Makoto's voice carried over to them as the two brunettes returned from their racing game. Trowa shrugged, looking nonplussed. "You beat me five out of six times! Hey what happened to Usagi?"

"She suddenly remembered she was being irresponsible." Rei replied grumpily.

"You guys want to pool together and get some pizza? I'm starved." Duo said, looking around eagerly.

"By 'pool together' do you mean guilt tripping Quatre in to paying like you always do?" Wufei responded dryly. Duo had the dignity to look sheepish while Quatre smiled from the other booth and insisted he didn't mind paying.

They put in their order and while they were waiting, Rei suddenly grinned to herself. "Usagi is going to be so mad when she hears she missed out on the pizza."

**xXx**

"This mission is strange." Everyone in the room glanced at Trowa in surprise. The tall brunette was not known for initiating conversations. He sat in a chair in the living room, arms folded with a frown across his face, suddenly commanding the attention of the entire room. "When I accepted this mission, it was under the pretense of crushing a rebel faction known as the Sailor Senshi. The mission folder indicates the Doctors received intelligence that these girls were planning some sort of movement to take control of the Earth."

Duo let out a low whistle. "Wow Trowa, that's the most I've ever heard you say at one time."

"Can it, Maxwell." Wufei rolled his eyes, before he turned back to Trowa. "We all know that. What's your point, Barton?"

"Well I've done some digging on the Sailor Senshi since we've been here. Several years ago, when the girls we're currently investigating would have been between fourteen and sixteen, there are a good amount of articles that discuss their activities. In all of these the Senshi are referred to as heroes, champions of justice, defenders of the people, etc. After hearing what Moon said the other day, I am beginning to doubt that these girls are planning any sort of takeover."

"I agree," Quatre said from his seat on the couch. "I've felt this way for some time but I've kept it to myself. If these girls are the Sailor Senshi, they seem to be keeping the peace, not upsetting it."

"Is this logical reasoning we're dealing with, or is it because you have gotten to know these girls better that you don't think them capable of deceit or treachery?" Wufei spoke up again, sounding unconvinced, "We know they obviously have some capacity for violence. They are decent strategists if the last battle we witnessed is any indication. Just because they show compassion toward civilian victims doesn't mean they don't want to rule the world."

"It is not our job to question the mission parameters." Heero said firmly from behind the screen of his laptop. Duo frowned at him.

"This isn't war anymore, Heero. I'm not about to pull the trigger on someone who could be innocent." He paused, ignoring the glare that Heero sent him over the top of his screen. "The Doc said they received an anonymous tip that these girls attended Juuban High, so who's to say that tip didn't come from one of the Senshi's enemies? They don't seem to be in short supply of those. What if we've unknowingly been recruited to their side by way of false information?"

"They are considered rebels and vigilantes of justice." Heero argued back, causing Duo to scoff. He was hardly one to get angry, but it was apparent that his temper was running short with the perfect soldier.

"Vigilantes? Should they leave the slimy creatures to the Juuban Police Department? You've experienced firsthand how effective guns are against those monstrosities. From what I've seen the only mobile suits they've destroyed have attacked them first, and I don't know about you but if something shoots at me I shoot back."

"I am not suggesting we abandon the mission," Trowa said calmly, breaking in as the two glared each other down. "We should be wary. Something doesn't sit right with me about this whole situation."

"Agreed," Quatre said, and the rest of them wisely kept silent, letting the issue drop.

**xXx**

Minako rolled over on her bed as she heard the Sailor V ringtone blaring from her cell phone, signaling a text message. She reached for the device resting on her bedside table and slid it open so the message was displayed.

_Hey Babe_.

Her brow furrowed as she looked at the number. It wasn't local and she didn't recognize it either. Hitting reply, her fingers moved quickly over the keyboard and she hit send. _Who is this?_

_Duo. _Minako smiled to herself before she could catch it.

_And how did you get my number?_

_I have my ways. Anyway, I'm totally bored, want to go to the movies with me?_ Pausing, Minako looked down at her sweatpants and pullover ensemble. Then she spared a glance at the stack of homework that was due tomorrow. Shrugging, she hit the reply button.

_I'll meet you there in twenty minutes._

**xXx**

Minako spotted him before he saw her, leaning against the wall near the entrance. He had both hands shoved in his pockets and his usually carefree violet eyes darkened as they seemed to watch everyone in the crowd. As though he was looking for something or waiting for something to happen. It gave her the chills for a moment, and then he suddenly turned toward her and grinned. The look vanished from his eyes and once gone, it seemed impossible that it was ever there.

"Minako! I'm so glad you came; the guys are always a total drag. They never go anywhere with me!" Duo led her toward the ticket booth eagerly as Minako tried to summon her usual bubbly attitude.

"I know, the girls are always doing other stuff. Usagi is usually up for it but she's always grounded because of her grades or not doing her chores."

"So we should do this more often, huh?" The question threw her off, but Duo immediately changed the subject by pointing to the list of movie titles and times. "What do you want to see?"

"Nothing scary," the blonde instantly declared. Duo nodded and walked over to get their tickets, insisting he was paying. When he came back and handed her the ticket, she grimaced. "This is the scary one!"

"I know," Duo responded, smiling cheekily. "You can grab on to me if you get too scared."

"I'm not that much of a wimp!" Minako argued back as they headed for the theatre. Duo nodded as though he believed her, but he was still grinning as he bought them a large popcorn and soda to share. As they settled into their seats, Minako looked around and noticed it wasn't too crowded; this movie had been out a few weeks now. The lights dimmed almost immediately, indicating they'd arrived just in time for the previews.

Not five minutes into the movie, their bucket of popcorn ended up showering the couple sitting behind them and Minako had practically jumped into Duo's lap. When they left the theatre at the end of the movie, Duo was still laughing heartily and Minako was as red as a fresh ripened tomato.

"You're terrible! See if I ever come to the movies with you again." Minako was complaining, but she was fighting off a smile as well. She'd acted completely ridiculous, she was terrified of scary movies, but at least Duo thought it was more amusing than annoying.

"Okay, no movies next time," he conceded, "I'm starved though. You threw our popcorn all over some angry people. What good is there to eat around here?"

Minako considered for a moment before she said, "There a place nearby that makes really good burgers."

"Sounds awesome." They walked in relative quiet, and Minako watched Duo from the corner of her eyes, trying to consider him an enemy.

It was nearly impossible for her. She had never met anyone like him that she clicked with so easily. He had yet to criticize anything she done. In the few classes they had together he almost got her in trouble for making her laugh too much. Yet despite that he had volunteered to help her out with her work when he noticed her struggling. He was incredibly smart, though she would have never guessed, but never mocked her when it took her a while to catch on to what he was saying.

They sunk into a booth across from each other and disappeared behind their menus for a moment. Minako frowned into hers, knowing what the real problem was. She liked Duo, maybe more than she wanted to admit. She didn't want him to be an enemy.

"I thought when you said burgers you meant normal meat, cheese, and tomato kind of burgers. What is this stuff?" Duo lowered his menu and pointed, "There's peanut butter on this one!"

"The Lip Smacker, it's my favorite." Minako grinned as she lowered her menu as well, "In fact I think I'll have that one. You should try the Italian Stallion. It's got pepperoni, mozzarella, and marinara. You seem to like pizza if the other day at the arcade is any indication."

"Fair enough. I'll trust you this time." Duo closed his menu and set it to the side while Minako tried not to look surprised that he was actually following her advice. "But if I contract food poisoning you have to visit me in the hospital and hold my braid while I puke."

Minako, despite herself, burst out laughing. "Deal."

**xXx**

"Guys, I've been wondering." Everyone sitting around the table turned to Minako in surprise. The normally bubbly blonde looked serious, almost grim, and it instantly set them on alert. They had been laughing over a story Makoto was telling about something that happened in her gym class earlier that day, but now Minako had the undivided attention of the room. "Suppose we do find some evidence that the five guys are the Gundam pilots, or they're here to find us out or whatever the circumstance. What then?"

"What do you mean?" Ami was the first to speak, after a pregnant pause where they considered her question.

"It's like Usa said the other day. We aren't mercenaries and we don't kill people. What would we do if they were out to kill us? Or expose our identities?" A somber silence followed these questions. None of them, apparently, had considered this. Probably due largely to the fact that they still held on to the hope that the five boys they were suspicious of were not, in fact, enemies.

"You're our leader, Usa. What do you think?" Rei turned to the blonde, who frowned uncertainly. Several years ago Rei probably would have meant this question with a certain mockery, but it was clear that the priestess had found some form of respect for Usagi because she voiced the question with an honest curiosity to the pigtailed girl's opinion.

"We would be forced to capture them, I guess. I suppose the Luna Mind Meld would be an option, but it could be ineffective if they're working for a superior who contacted them after the memory alteration was done. The confusion could harm their brain, irreversibly even. I would say the Ginzuishou but that poses the same problem." Usagi sighed, the stress in her face making her appear a few years older. "I just don't know."

"We've never been pursued in this manner before." Rei began, nodding at Usagi in understanding, " Usually the ones after us were Negaverse creeps or Dark Moon, or any other alien faction bent on taking over the Earth. Now that it's humans, humans with ties to the very Earth we are trying to protect, it's different."

"Maybe," Usagi hesitated, glancing around, her expression giving way to the fact she didn't think they would like what she was about to say, "Well, they are most likely Preventors, right? If they are the Gundam pilots I don't think they're mercenaries for hire. If they found us out and, theoretically, wanted to take us in, perhaps we should surrender."

"What?" Makoto nearly leapt to her feet in her excitement, but both her and Rei shouted this at once. Ami looked surprised, shocked even. Minako had the mildest reaction to this: she simply raised her eyebrows.

"We've done nothing wrong. If they knew our identities already, I think it may the best course of action." Usagi reasoned.

"So much could go wrong with that plan, Usagi. If regular humans knew about us, about our magic, things could get out of hand quickly." Ami said, looking uncertainly at her leader as she argued her point. "What would you do if they refused to let us go? What if they wanted to experiment on us?"

Again Usagi sighed, closing her eyes. "I don't know. But we should consider what Minako said and try to come up with some more options."

**xXx**

Quatre stood by the window in his room, looking down at the sidewalk lit by street lamps, watching the sparse pedestrians passing by their apartment building. In his right hand he was unconsciously fingering a strip of blue cloth as he thought about the dark blue eyes of the person who had given it to him. There was a small but noticeable blood stain on it from where it had patched the cut on his forehead.

Ami Mizuno. Sailor Mercury. Could they be one in the same? He would be totally convinced of it in one moment, and then begin to doubt himself the next. The girl, Ami Mizuno, was smart, top of her class, quiet and subdued. Sailor Mercury seemed to be in charge of analyzing the situation. He thought of her minicomputer, her visor, the way she assessed the enemy suits and the substance on their legs in the last battle he'd witnessed.

Quatre thought again of the dark blue eyes that had smiled at his as she'd bandaged him. Each time he tried to recall any other minute details of her face, he drew a blank. The blurred effect their magic had on film must manipulate all perception of their faces. That's why they felt no need to wear masks; their magic protected them.

It felt odd to him, just thinking that. He had never been one to believe in magic or fairy tales or even romantic ideas like soul mates and true loves, at least until now. It was hard to deny what was right in front of your face.

He glanced down at the bandage in his hand. It still felt slightly cool to the touch. He had almost expected it to disappear at some point, but it was still there, real, tangible. He thought of sending it to be scanned for DNA but as he remembered, she had only touched it with her gloves and either way he doubt there would be any results. After all, magic prevented him from even seeing her face; he figured it would have the DNA bases covered as well.

His thoughts wandered again back to the girl, Ami Mizuno, smiling at him over the table in the little café as she spoke with enthusiasm about Jane Austen, her own blue eyes sparkling in the light. They appeared to him a few shades lighter than those of Sailor Mercury, or maybe he was just thinking about it so much his thoughts were becoming distorted.

Quatre sighed and tucked the blue cloth away in his things just as Wufei entered the room. Duo and Wufei were a disaster to room together, and Heero always room alone, so that inevitably left him with the Chinese pilot. Which was perfectly fine to him; Wufei's company was unobtrusive and he kept his things very neat and organized. He pitied the mess Trowa must be dealing with via Duo.

Wufei simply nodded at him as he retrieved his katana and left again, most likely to train as Quatre supposed. He considered how Wufei had not bought into Trowa's theory at all, determined to believe the Senshi deserved capture and persecution. The blonde was grateful that someone had finally voiced what he'd been thinking for so long. He truly believed that the Senshi were good, heroes. It made no logical sense to him that they would be trying to control the Earth.

Sighing, he settled in to complete his homework. High school, he thought, was a terrible cover; too much work.

**xXx**

I know, weird story choice to update. I couldn't help it though. :) Please review!


	8. Caught

"Hino-san?" Rei raised her eyebrows when she looked up at Yuuichirou and the man standing beside him. He appeared as surprised as she felt.

"Injustice! You said you were bringing me to the owner of this shrine." A smirk came over her face while Yuuichirou looked uncertain. Wufei glared at her, "Something funny, onna?"

"Thank you, Yuuichirou." The dark haired girl nodded too him, and Yuuichirou reluctantly retreated, eyeing the Chinese boy with equal parts interest and suspicion. "Since my grandfather passed away, I am the owner of this shrine. How can I help you?"

Wufei glowered while Rei only smiled, contentedly, like a cat preening. "I was looking for a place to train."

Rei looked him over for a moment, now serious, her intense violet eyes flickering with curiosity. His face, though relaxed from its previous glare, seemed to be etched in a permanent scowl. His eyes stayed fixed on her, waiting, dark as coals and steady, full of confidence. He wore a black tank top, the well-defined muscles of his arms prominently displayed, and baggy training pants. In his left hand was a small duffel bag.

To her scrutiny, he looked like a soldier.

"Follow me," Rei turned and began walking, not bothering to check whether Wufei would follow. The soft padding of his light footsteps behind her told her that he had. "You can use this area for now. If you plan on making it a regular thing, we can clean out one of the rooms for you to use as well so you can come and go as you please."

Wufei observed the courtyard-like area she had led him to, with lots of valuable open space and a few neatly trimmed garden patches here and there, probably tended to by the shaggy-haired youth that had shown him in. He wondered offhand if the boy lived and worked at the shrine fulltime and figured he must, since Rei also went to school.

He observed her for a moment, standing there in her priestess uniform. Her eyes, usually flickering with annoyance or scorn for him, were serenely watching him, waiting for him to respond to her offer. "Thank you, onna." He resisted a smirk when he saw her bristle at the name, but it quickly disappeared as she quashed it down; totally professional. "Maybe I will."

**xXx**

"You are really, really bad at this." Trowa just blinked at her, his arms coated in flour up to his elbows, while she battled with the urge to laugh. "Just knead the dough. It's not your enemy; you don't have to choke the life out of it."

Makoto reached out and took the nearly obliterated dough from his fingers, rolling it back into a ball and gently kneading it with her knuckles. She'd been watching the tall boy in her classes since their encounter in the park. True to his word, most subjects appeared to require just the slightest effort on his part.

In fact, his only weakness had presented itself in her strongest suit. "How did you end up with Advanced Home Economics again?"

"Someone up there hates me." Trowa shrugged as he stood to the side, watching as Makoto expertly worked the dough he had been mauling just moments ago. Her emerald eyes were still focused on him while her fingers manipulated the doughy mass, completely second nature. "I guess I needed an elective and this was available. We came at an inopportune time of the school year. You like to cook?"

A smile came over her then that softened every feature of her face and set her eyes alight. He couldn't look away. "More than anything. I want to be a chef someday." She realized she'd exposed a part of herself she hadn't exactly meant to. Her smile faded and she frowned as she glanced around for the bread pans.

Trowa placed them within her reach, also frowning but staying silent. She tutored him on separating the dough and explained how it would rise in the oven as long as they didn't continuously open the door. He set the timer while she slid the two loaves in their oven. He washed his hands, and arms, while she removed the oven mitt and adjusted her hair band.

"So why do you wear the bangs?" Due to sanitation rules he'd also been forced to push his hair back from his face, and Makoto was gesturing to his brown locks now, her smile playful. "I suspected a disfiguring scar or something, but you're actually quite cute."

Had it been within his capacity of emotion, he probably would have blushed at the compliment. He felt an oddly uncomfortable thrumming in his stomach that moved to his chest and then quickly disappeared. Unsure of how to answer her question, he shrugged again and said, "Habit? Why do you wear a ponytail all the time?"

"Touché." Makoto leaned into the counter, watching Trowa stack the last of their cleaned dishes back in their proper places. He moved with a subtle grace and confidence that she found herself envious of, but she decided not to question him about it. He answered all of her questions reluctantly and seldom asked one of his own. A strong silent type for sure.

Yet she wanted to keep probing, to find out more. She told herself it was because of their suspicions, hers and her fellow senshi, that these boys were not here to make nice and could potentially be their enemies. Another side of her knew that this wasn't the only reason. She was interested. She didn't feel there was anything evil or sinister about him. He seemed to possess a strong sense of justice and a keen intelligence, not to mention an endlessly observant eye to everything around him.

Trowa finally completed his task and turned to face her, their green eyes meeting. She suddenly felt nervous, and it wasn't a common feeling for her. She wasn't sure whether she liked it or not.

"I'll help you with chemistry," the sudden declaration made her furrow her brow in confusion, which he easily picked up on and elaborated, "Without your help I would have burnt, flat bread and a failing grade. I can help you with the lab today, in chemistry."

Makoto flushed at that. Science was her worst subject. It was a loss on her how she could mix endless spices and sugars to perfection but when it came to chemicals she tried to blow up the laboratory every time. Trowa also shared that class with her and had no doubt noticed her determination to ruin every experiment she touched.

Her pride didn't want to accept the help, but she also needed the credit to graduate and was tinkering on the edge of a 'C' into no man's land at the moment. Trowa had accepted her help graciously with making bread. It was another excuse to get information, her subconscious probed.

"Seems like a fair deal."

**xXx**

"Why did you take this class again?" It wasn't the first time the blonde girl had asked the question, and Heero found that the tic in his eye was starting to come back. Five transfer students coming into a school at a random time in the year simply had to get creative and take classes where there were open spots.

So he was stuck in advanced art class along with a certain pigtailed blonde. Even though she had asked him the question again, she hadn't waited for him to respond. She knew better than that by now. Her blue eyes were squinting with concentration and the canvas in front of her and she was biting her bottom lip unconsciously. When she wasn't being ridiculous and noisy, she was actually tolerable.

He wondered at that thought, which came out of nowhere, and turned to his own canvas to finish. Their assignment for the week was simply "regret." The instructor was a flighty woman that he could easily mistake for a homeless person who got all of her clothes from a thrift shop or a dumpster. He hated these assignments. Just tell him to paint a boat, or a mountain, or a field. He didn't need abstract ideas aiming for poetic and dramatic.

"I just mean you always seem sort of miserable when you're painting." Usagi was always more subdued in this class. She seemed to enjoy their assignments and always got involved when she was drawing, sketching, or painting. She talked less, and that was probably the best point of the course. She glanced from her canvas to him with a half smile, "It makes me a little sad is all."

She laid down her brush and surveyed her work in silence, her face unusually blank. Splotches of colored paints decorated her hands, and she had a streak of pink across her forehead where she had brushed her hair out of her eyes at some point. Despite himself, Heero wondered what was on the other side of her canvas, what she could possibly have to regret. He remembered the day in the infirmary when she spoke of memories she wanted to forget.

_Don't you have painful memories? Things you don't want to remember?_ Heero surveyed his own canvas, frowning. The girl he'd created didn't bear much resemblance to the actual thing. Maybe time had blurred the acuity of his memories, or maybe she had started to look like another girl he knew as he painted her, someone more recent.

"Very good work Miss Tsukino!" The blonde jumped a bit when the teacher addressed her, and smiled automatically before uttering a thank you. "Have you thought about what work you want to submit to the regional competition next month?"

"Oh, um, not yet." Usagi looked flustered for a moment before she excused herself to clean up. Heero scowled at the teacher in an attempt to divert her from coming his way, but the woman hardly noticed as she leaned around to look at his work as well.

"Impeccable as always, Mr. Yuy. A bit more feeling in this one too, that's good. Art is about _emotion_," Heero tuned her out as he gathered his brushes and walked off while she continued to rant about the passions of art. He joined Usagi at the sink instead.

"You always do that. Just tell her you don't want to enter." The pigtailed girl jumped again, startled. She was more distracted than usual today. Heero found himself wondering again what she had painted on her canvas, and then hated himself for it.

"She's giving me extra credit and writing me a letter of recommendation for college," Usagi responded as she laid out the cleaned brushes on a towel to dry. Her hands were free of paint now but she still had a pink smudge on her face. "And it's not like I don't want to."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't see the point." Usagi bit her lip, looking uncertain. "It's not like I'm going to win."

"Is winning the only point?" Heero stepped closer to lay his brushes next to hers, and then used the wet edge of his napkin to wipe the smudge of paint off of her forehead. Her face registered surprise before immediately turning bright red, and he fought the urge to roll his eyes. They both returned to their work stations in silence, but after a while she peered at him again, the blush faded from her cheeks.

"Did you want to see?"

"Yes," he responded instantly, even though he meant to say no. He cursed inwardly, even as Usagi beamed at him and waved him closer, tilting the canvas so that he could see. The subject was a little girl with pink hair, done into familiar buns, only shaped into cones instead of round. She had red eyes and a smile, her hands outstretched to what he thought was a round ball at first glance, but which had the face of a cat. "Who is she?"

"No one," Heero glanced up at her tone, but Usagi had the same blank expression that she'd worn before when looking at it, but there was some emotion working behind her eyes that he couldn't identify. Emotions weren't his strong point. "Just a possibility. A regret."

"Class! Attention please!" Their eccentric teacher was calling order at the front of the room so Heero returned to his seat, perplexed. "I know you're all excited for the weekend but I must assign a bit of homework for you. You and a partner should venture out into the great wide world this weekend and find a subject of radiance that each of you will paint. The idea is to learn the difference in style and technique! The subject is _hope_! Now go forth and create!"

Heero glanced over at Usagi, who was grinning at him expectantly, and he sighed. _There goes the weekend_.

**xXx**

Quatre had not been certain he would find her there, yet there she sat. The table in the corner, with text books open and occupying the empty space on the surface, and her wire-rimmed glasses perched delicately on her nose as her hand moved across the page. When she reached for her cappuccino, she rattled the cup for a moment before frowning and setting it down again.

The blonde boy joined her a few moments later, placing a fresh cup beside her. She looked up in surprise, and he smiled at her when they're eyes met. "Mind if I join you?"

Her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink, but she nodded anyway and hurried to move her books out of the way with clumsy hands. He slid his book bag to the floor beside the chair before taking a seat across from her with his own drink in his other hand.

"I was hoping you might have your notes from World History today, and I intended to bribe you with cappuccino if you would let me copy some of them. I think I've missed a few key points."

"You didn't need a bribe," Ami started shuffling through her bag and produced the binder she had labeled for their history class, which was tabbed on the inside according to chapters. As she started to flip through them, her brow wrinkled, and she asked, "Which chapter did we cover today?"

"You don't remember? Chapter thirty eight," Quatre watched as she pulled the binder rings open and extracted the proper set of notes. He looked them over: neat, immaculate even, and highlighted by what would likely be on the test. His pale blue eyes looked over at her binder again, and he realized that all the chapter tabs were already full of notes.

"There's less than half a year left of school so I've already finished out the curriculum in all of my classes. I always read ahead." It sounded a bit like a confession, and she quickly closed the binder to put it away. On closer inspection, Quatre noticed that the text book she had been poring over when he came in was indeed not one of their text books, but a volume on medical terminology.

"That's amazing." Ami flushed a darker shade of red at his compliment, "So you're already studying for college then?"

"Um, yes." Quatre knew she was embarrassed but he couldn't figure out why. She was brilliant, that much was obvious, and she should have been proud of herself. He glanced down at the book again.

"Medical terminology? So you want to be a doctor like your mother?" He couldn't stop from asking questions, even though he had her notes in his hand and he should have been pretending to copy them to make his initial lie more believable, but he wanted to know more.

"That's the plan," She nodded. Quatre thought again of that moment with Sailor Mercury, her fingers touching the cut on his forehead, the bandage still folded neatly on his bedside table. He was almost certain, in that moment when he looked across the table into Ami's dark blue eyes that they had to be the same person. Ami Mizuno was the only person who could be Sailor Mercury; both genius, both gentle, and the eyes most of all.

But what did that mean, if it were true? His stomach did a strange flip inside of him. If Ami was Sailor Mercury then he would have to capture her, turn her over to the Preventers. If she was the same person, then she was a criminal.

"Thank you for the coffee." He glanced up again into the full warmth of her smiling face, and felt the blush start to rise on his own cheeks. Ami was pretty, even more so in the sense that she was intelligent, and she had no idea of how attractive she really was. He would have even called her beautiful. The thought disturbed him. He needed to be a soldier; he needed to put things in perspective.

"You're welcome." Quatre finally fetched his own notes from his bag and went through the motions fo copying hers while he continued to observe her from the corners of his vision. The blue haired girl was small framed but covered in lean muscle. Her eyes were focused, but lined with a wisdom he wouldn't have expected in a seventeen-year-old girl. There was also a loneliness he could feel surrounding her, and that bothered him as well.

"Quatre?" He realized he must have spaced out for a moment, because she had caught him staring and was giving him a perplexed look. His face began to heat up once more and his heart picked up a few beats. For a moment, he felt like he really was just a kid in high school.

"I'm starving. Do you want to get something to eat?" The words tumbled out of him in one mashed up sentence that didn't even sound like language. Ami spent a moment processing, trying to figure out what he'd said. When she worked it out, he knew, because her eyes widened and she froze entirely.

"I...uh...I can't." The next moment was a blur. She closed all of her things and shoved them in her bag almost faster than he could follow her movements. Instead of blushing, she was oddly pale as she moved to go around him. "I have to go."

"Ami, wait, your notes," Quatre said the first thing that appeared in his mind, trying to slow her as she made a beeline for the door, to no avail.

"Keep them!" She called over her shoulder. The door jingled and then she was gone. Quatre fell back into his seat, dumbfounded, his eyes fixed on the cappuccino she had left on the table, abandoned.

**xXx**

Heero inwardly groaned as he tried to keep up with the bubbly Usagi while she practically skipped around the park. He had been delegated to the task of carrying their canvases, paints, and brushes while the blonde ran to and fro trying to find something that embodied "hope." It was already approaching evening on what felt like the longest Saturday in his life, but nothing had suited her so far.

"That bush looks pretty hopeful." The brunette said in monotone, pointing. Usagi scowled at him.

"Heero, be serious! This is for a grade, you know. She will fail us if she knows we didn't try." That much was true at least. Heero frowned anyway. The only thing that looked hopeful to him was the prospect of going home.

Usagi was distractedly looking at some pigeons that were fighting over a bread crust just down the sidewalk when they heard the screams. Heero watched as her whole body tensed. When the sound reached them again, she launched into a run. To his surprise, she was running toward them. He dropped everything he was carrying and sprinted after her.

He caught up to her just as they came upon the creature, so he didn't have time to wonder how she ran so fast. The monster was at least seven feet tall, some mutated degeneration of the pigeons she had been watching a few moments before. Its eyes were red and glowing, and it had muscular arms and a torso with giant grey wings coming out of its back, a wingspan of ten feet, easily. At the end of one of those arms was a child of preschool age, kicking into midair and struggling to take a breath while his mother screamed in the background.

He pulled his gun and started to fire. Usagi flinched at the sound of the shots but she ran forward when the youma dropped the little boy and turned its attention to the new victim. The blonde picked up the kid who was crying and shaking and carried him to his mother, who had stopped screaming and started to sob.

"_Run_," she said urgently. The mother nodded as she took her child into her arms and did exactly that. Usagi turned back around just as the pigeon monster lunged for him. Heero rolled out of the way easily and returned to his feet. The pigtailed girl was watching him, her face pale. She was arguing with herself, he could see the conflict on her face, and he knew what was coming before her hand went to her pocket.

"Moon Celestial Power!" At first it was an explosion of light. He squinted against it but he couldn't make out the blonde girl in the center of it. Before he knew it, the light was gone, and a sailor soldier stood in its place.

A noise to his right put his senses on edge, but when he turned to locate the monster he found he couldn't see through the dots in his vision. He raised his gun and fired blindly even though he knew it wasn't going to help.

"Heero!" Her weight crashed into him, and the pain took his breath away as they rolled across the grass in a tangle of limbs. They came to a halt with her on top of him, and she pushed herself up on her hands, scowling at him. "Are you trying to get us killed?"

She was gone a second later, her attention focused of the monster while he tried to catch his breath, pushing up on one arm to watch the fight. The creature was slow; it only had momentum enough to make a charge and it didn't seem to possess the intelligence to even speak. Moon let it attack her a few times before she summoned her sword.

"Lunar Eclipse Blade!" In another flash of light, the creature dissolved into nothingness. Moon stood in the spot where it had been and didn't move, the sword vanishing from her hand. For a long time she stayed silent, and he said nothing to her. Finally she reached up and removed her broach, and with another flash of light, Usagi Tsukino stood there once more.

When she turned, she came face to face with the barrel of his gun.

**xXx**

Oh dear.

Don't fret, I promise you the next chapter is already mostly done. I just want to milk you for reviews first, ha ha. I just want to say that this story has evolved into something completely different than it was initially and I'm a little sad that I will have to rush it toward an ending faster than I wanted to ensure it gets an ending at all. I think most people would prefer a rushed ending to none at all, right?

Review!


	9. The Future That Wasn't

"Don't move," he said, but she put her hands up in surrender as a reflex, her blue eyes wide and full of fear.

"I surrender. I'll come with you. You don't need the gun." Her face was a mixture of resignation and sadness as she said it. He wasn't sure why he felt a pang of guilt. "Heero, please."

He grudgingly lowered the gun, and she slowly lowered her hands. "Give me the broach and come with me," he said gruffly. She handed the broach to him and he pocketed it before grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her along. Heero wasn't sure how long it would take the rest of the sailor senshi to arrive here but he wasn't keen on finding out. He tucked his gun away and led the blonde girl toward the apartment.

"People are giving us weird looks. Hold my hand," Usagi muttered in a voice just above a whisper, and as they made their way down the sidewalk, he realized she was right. Passersby were eyeing him with mistrust. He slid his hand down over her smaller one and held on to her firmly, slowing his pace a bit so it looked more like they were walking and less like he was dragging her.

When the two of them made it back to the apartment, they found it empty. The rest of the pilots were out doing their own thing. He scowled as he seated Usagi on the couch and pulled out his cell phone. He sent a text to all four of them before shoving it back into his pocket.

Heero finally looked at Usagi again. She was watching him in silence, wary. He could see the resemblance to Sailor Moon now. She had lost all traces of the annoyingly loud school girl and had the mask of a soldier.

"What now? What do you want from me?" Despite that, her voice was small when she spoke. She flinched when he pulled out his gun to place on the table.

"We wait for the others." He said.

"You should let me call Rei."

"No." He glared at her.

"They know there was a youma. If I don't tell them I destroyed it and that I'm fine, they will keep looking for me all night. Eventually they'll think of you guys, and Minako will bring them here." Heero's frown deepened the more that she spoke, but everything she said made perfect sense. If four sailor senshi showed up here he wasn't sure what he could do against them. But he had Usagi as a hostage, and he was fairly confident that they would not risk her life.

"Do it." Heero expected her to reach for a cell phone, but instead she flipped open her watch and pressed a button. A moment later he could hear Rei's voice coming from the device.

"We just got to the park, where are you?"

"Gone already. The youma was just a pawn, no suits this time either. I took care of it myself. You guys are slackers," Usagi grinned at her wrist, and Heero marveled at her ability to switch emotions so quickly. "Sorry I didn't call you sooner. See you!"

"Usa-!" She snapped the watch closed before the other girl could say anything else and sighed. After a moment, Heero held out his hand. She undid the clasp and handed him the communicator without a word.

"Will you tell me who you guys are now?" Usagi looked up at him. Heero frowned but didn't respond, so the blonde kept talking like she always did, just to fill up the silence. "We knew you guys were after us after that first time with the guns. We just don't know who you're working for. We didn't know what to do about it."

"So you stayed friends with us?" He said it with an almost sneer, and Usagi winced.

"I guess it was a bad idea," she conceded in a small voice, "but we've never had a human enemy. Aliens, evil queens, hundreds of monsters, sure, but never humans."

The door of the apartment opened and Duo appeared, looking winded. His cobalt eyes found the pigtailed girl on the couch and he let out a deep breath. "Usagi?"

"Duo," she struggled for a moment but smiled at him. He stepped all the way inside and shut the door behind him, suddenly solemn. He moved his gaze past her to Heero, who only nodded at him. Duo moved around the room and fell into the couch opposite the blonde girl.

"The others aren't here yet?" Heero shook his head and Duo grinned. "So I beat Wufei."

"Can it, Maxwell." The scowling Chinese man appeared in the doorway with Quatre and Trowa right behind him. They filed in and took spaces around Duo on the couch while Wufei receded to the table where Heero was standing. "You're sure about this, Yuy?"

Heero nodded, not saying anything. The silence settled over them. Usagi studied her hands that were resting in her lap and didn't say anything either, for once. It was Quatre who finally broke them from they're reverie. "So what now? Are we turning her in?"

"That's a question for our fearless leader, Quat." Duo answered, looking toward Heero.

"Can I at least know why I've been captured?" Usagi spoke up at last, looking at each of them for a moment before setting her eyes on Heero. "Don't I deserve at least that much for saving your lives. More than once I might add." She smiled a bit and said, "More times than you know actually."

"The sailor senshi are being charged with treason. You're accused of conspiring to seize control of the Earth and possibly the colonies as well." Heero told her with no emotion, earning surprised looks from his comrades. None of them had expected him to actually say anything, obviously.

Usagi gave him a look of blatant shock, but when she saw that he was serious, she thought about it for a moment. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated, digging through her memory, until the epiphany shown on her face.

She laughed.

Wufei instantly bristled, "I'm glad you find it amusing, onna. It is punishable by death."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just if you knew the circumstances." She glanced up at the still scowling youth and said, "I've died before. I don't find it amusing."

"This just keeps getting weirder," Duo sighed from his spot on the couch. Wufei was still scowling, even more put off by her response than he was before. Usagi, however, seemed a bit more comfortable than before, almost content.

"I suppose the accusation of 'conspiring to seize control of the Earth' may have been true a few years back, but that's ancient history. I wonder who gave you that information."

"So you admit it?" Heero said coldly, but Usagi remained placid and shook her head negative.

"If you're going to understand then I'll have to tell you everything. The whole story, and then you can turn me in to whoever thinks I want to seize the Earth." The blonde looked at him, but she wasn't smiling anymore. She looked grave, and older than her seventeen years.

"I don't see how any of that matters." Wufei said from his seat at the table, his arms crossed over his chest and his dark eyes fixed on the pigtailed girl. "We have the leader; getting the other four will be easy. We turn them in and go back to our lives."

"I want to hear it," Quatre spoke up. "I think she has the right to explain."

"She can, when we turn her in," Wufei countered.

"I want to know too." Trowa finally spoke from his spot beside Duo. His visible green eye was fixed on Usagi, who was waiting silently for them to decide. "None of this has made sense from the beginning. I want to hear their side before we do anything."

"I think you're outnumbered, Wu-Man." Duo said cheerfully. Wufei clenched his teeth but didn't say anything else.

"Go ahead." Heero finally said, crossing his arms as he leaned into the arm of the couch. Usagi contemplated for a moment, wondering where to begin.

"I suppose it started more than a millennia ago, on the moon..." And so she launched into the story, starting with the fall of a kingdom and her mother wishing them all to the future. She kept it as succinct as she could: becoming Sailor Moon in this time, meeting the other senshi, battles upon battles. Reluctantly she talked about Tuxedo Mask, and then her future daughter. It was something she didn't want to relive, but it was essential to the story. As brief as she tried to be, she still felt like she was talking for hours. None of them interrupted her. She had no idea if they believed her or not.

"Chaos was supposed to be our last battle. That was almost two years ago now, which brings us to the moment I was supposed to take over the Earth." Usagi paused as she remembered it, trying to steady her emotions, but she knew it was futile. "Crystal Tokyo was the name of the future that we'd been told about. We were supposed to put the Earth into a deep freeze until the birth of the city could take place, at which time I would have ascended to the throne as Neo-Queen Serenity.

"But I said no." She paused, collecting her words, then continued, "I've seen a lot of evil in my time: of men, of things that weren't human, and the darkness that was Chaos himself. I'm not a fool. It takes more than a crown and a pretty dress to be a queen. The world has been at war, and I have been at war, and there is no place here for a city of crystal or a magical queen to rule over everything."

She stopped talking then, and the tears gathered in her eyes before she could stop them. "I told my senshi that we would not be soldiers or royalty anymore. We just wanted to be normal teenagers again. I didn't want to rule the world.

"So yes, the sailor senshi were conspiring at one time to seize control of the Earth in order to turn it into Crystal Tokyo and instill peace over its people, but instead we decided to leave the Earth to them. As imperfect as they are, despite the wars and the famine and the pain, humans own the Earth now and there is no Moon Kingdom anymore. Arrest me if you must." As an afterthought, she added, "Though I don't know what you'll do about the youma if you do."

"So that's it? Just one day you decided 'Oh, I don't want to be queen over everything' and gave it up?" Duo said in disbelief. "Usagi, no offense, but you are crazy."

Usagi laughed and wiped at her eyes to get rid of her tears. "You aren't the first person to say so."

"So what if you change your mind again and freeze the Earth after all? Decide being queen of the universe doesn't sound so bad after all?" Wufei spoke up from the table, frowning at her, "We're supposed to believe you won't change your mind on a whim again?"

"It's a bit more complicated than you think, freezing up the Earth." Her face became serious again and she said, "I did it for myself and my senshi. I want friends, not subjects. I want them to have normal lives, to live their dreams. If I became queen then they would be soldiers for the rest of their lives. You couldn't make me do that for anything."

"Can we have a while to think about this before we decide anything?" Quatre looked at Heero as he spoke, and Duo nodded with enthusiastic agreement next to him. The stoic brunette looked at his three fellow pilots on the couch, to Wufei who looked like his face was stuck in a permanent scowl, and then back at the blonde on the loveseat.

"Tomorrow," he said as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket once more and held it out to Usagi. "Call your parents and tell them you're staying at a friend's house for the night."

**xXx**

Usagi was curled on his bed with her knees against her chest, watching him in silence as he worked on his laptop. She hadn't said a word since she hung up with her mother a few hours ago, and he found the silence disturbing. He was only pretending to do work on the computer in front of him, typing up an e-mail to Dr. J he doubted he would be sending, looking back through the mission files and remembering the details of the story he had just heard.

Heero glanced at the blonde over the screen of his laptop and finally asked the question that had been bouncing around his brain all that time. "The girl in the painting, she was your daughter."

Well it was more of a statement than a question, but Usagi finally looked him in the eye. She didn't say anything at first, and when he thought she was going to say nothing at all, she spoke, "Chibiusa, my daughter from the future. When I told Mamoru what I was going to do, he was upset. We fought. He broke it off and moved to America permanently. Chibiusa ceased to exist."

She didn't start to cry again, but the expression on her face was worse than if she had. "Odango?"

Usagi flinched at the name, but said, "That's what he used to call me, when we first met, and when he just wanted to tease me. Odango. It's been a long time, since it all happened, but when I hear that name it feels like just yesterday."

Silence surrounded them again, and Heero moved his fingers over the keys of his laptop once more, writing another e-mail to Dr. J. It was the fourth one now.

"Why do you care?" His fingers paused over the keys, and he raised his eyes to meet her sapphire blue once more. "You found me out, your mission is over. What does it matter?"

"It doesn't." He averted his gaze and clicked out of the e-mail. _Then why did you ask_? His mind inquired for him, but he ignored it.

"Do you work for the people who send the suits after us?" Her voice was smaller when she asked this question. He shook his head without looking up. "Then who is? I can't figure out why any of our enemies would be working with humans. I thought maybe they sent you after us because they knew we wouldn't be able to fight back against our own kind."

"I don't know." It was a fair question. Dr. J would have included information in their mission parameters if the Preventers working against the sailor senshi as well. The old man knew practically every move the Preventers made, so that wasn't likely. Who else would have the means to produce mobile suits? "Are the suits always the same?"

"They seem to be getting stronger. The youma aren't getting any tougher but the suits are." Usagi studied him in the silence that followed while he thought about that. Someone must be actively upgrading and improving the designs as they go. It could be military, or possibly ex-military that had been laid off. He knew a lot of soldiers who were being put out of work now that the war was officially over. Anyone with sufficient means could potentially gain access to knowledge of mobile suits. "Who do you work for?"

Heero was distracted from his train of thought again and frowned at Usagi over his laptop. He'd given up on the e-mails. They were all sitting in the draft folder of his e-mail and each one made him sound more like a lunatic than the last. He thought better than responding to her question, but he did close the laptop and cross his arms over his chest. He was in charge of watching her, but he didn't really think she was going to attempt an escape at this point.

"I guess that means I don't get an answer," Usagi gave him a half smile. He marveled silently at her extreme personality shift between the bubbly girl that she was at school and the one in front of him now. "We were guessing you guys were the Gundam pilots."

Heero scowled and had to suppress the urge to pull his gun on her by force of habit. "Why?"

"Well there's five of you. They were supposed to be young," she hesitated, deciding whether or not she was going to hold something back, he could tell. But she did continue, "Rei thought she saw the Gundams when she consulted the fire. She has some psychic ability."

The explanation sounded ridiculous to him, but Heero had watched the blonde on the bed transform into a magical warrior in front of his eyes so he wasn't discrediting anything magical at this point. How would they have come to that conclusion otherwise?

"I know my word probably doesn't mean much, but the sailor senshi are the only ones who can stop whatever is behind these youma attacks. You've seen yourself how well guns do the job, and those weren't even as strong as some of the things we've defeated in the past. If I wanted to rule the Earth it would have already been frozen by now."

"Why do you act like you do at school?" The question threw her off, he could tell because her serious expression turned to one of surprise. She blinked at him for a moment, before shrugging.

"It's how they expect me to act. It's comforting, I think." Usagi smiled, "Same old Usagi. If I act like this, they worry. They worry enough already." She finally uncurled from her ball position and sat Indian-style. "What about you, why do you act the way you do?"

She was half joking when she said it, but Heero didn't have a response either way. Her eyes shifted from him to the table, where her broach and communicator were sitting alongside his gun. "I'm actually kind of jealous of you, being able to control your emotions like that." She made eye contact with him again. "They're all relying on you too, right? I can tell. Is that how they expect you to act?"

This time when she didn't get a response, Usagi stretched out on the bed and rolled over so her back was facing him. He knew she wasn't asleep, the tension in her posture gave it away, but she didn't ask him any more questions.

**xXx**

_Movies tomorrow?_

Duo read the text from Minako over again before he tossed his phone on the bedside table, a frown etched into his features. He thought about the blonde girl and her easy laughter. He thought about the last time they went to the movies and he'd chosen the horror movie on purpose. He couldn't even remember the name of the movie now; he'd spent nearly the whole film laughing.

The braided youth then thought about the other blonde, the one just a few rooms away under Heero's watch. He replayed the incredible story she'd told them a few hours before. He thought back to the battles he'd seen between the sailor senshi and the monsters that had appeared. Sailor Venus was one of those senshi. She'd saved their lives that morning before school when they were being charged by a purple creature of nightmares.

So she wasn't all that she seemed to be on the surface. How could he really be up in arms over that fact when he had been lying from the beginning too? They were both soldiers sworn to secrecy. He'd killed people. She'd fought monsters. She'd died, more than once if Usagi's story was true, in defense of the human race.

He heard the familiar chime of his ringtone and reached a hand for his cell phone again.

_I'll even watch the scary one._

A mirthless smile touched his face. In that moment, he hated that he was a soldier, that he was a part of this mission, and that it was up to him and the four other soldiers in this apartment to decide the fate of the sailor senshi. He wished he had ignored that summons and continued on with his life.

_But then I wouldn't have met her at all_. Duo sighed heavily and sat the phone down again. There was no way he could respond. He couldn't say yes, they would expect an answer in the morning concerning what to do with Usagi and the rest of them. On the other hand he couldn't bring himself to say no.

He wasn't one to get behind magical thinking, but he'd seen the sailor senshi in action and he felt he knew Usagi well enough to know she wasn't a liar. He believed her story, as outlandish as it seemed, even the parts about dying and being reborn, even the beginning about a kingdom on the moon thousands of years ago. He believed every word, and he was convinced that the sailor senshi were the good guys.

Truth be told, he had made his decision before he ever left the room.

Reaching for his phone, Duo finally typed a response and hit send before he rolled out of bed. _Why not tonight?_

**xXx**

I'm tired and I have a 13 hour clinical tomorrow, but I had to throw Duo in at the end there because there was just so much Usagi and Heero. The big reveal! What will the other pilots decide? Is Heero going to be true to the mission, perfect soldier to the end? We shall see. Review!


End file.
